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Frontispiece. 



STUCCO-RELIEF PALANQUES, CHIAPAS. 



ABOUT MEXICO, 



PAST AZtSTD PRESENT 



BY 



HANNAH MORE JOHNSON. 



WITH SIXTY-THREE MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 




PHILADELPHIA : 
PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION, 

1334 CHESTNUT STREET. 



COPYRIGHT, 1887, BY 

THE TRUSTEES OF THE 

PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION. 



All Hights Reserved. 



• T 7 



a 




Westcott & Thomson, 
Slereoiypers and Eleclrolypers, Philada. 



PREFACE. 



It is not judged needful by either author or publisher 
to assign reasons for laying before the public these chap- 
ters About Mexico, Past and Present, much less to apol- 
ogize for so doing, save as they may be inadequate to the 
importance and the interest of the subject. Our "next 
neighbor" on the south needs and deserves to be under- 
stood by the citizens of the United States, and especially 
by those who have at heart the welfare of their fellow- 
men and desire the extension to them of the blessings 
of a pure and elevating Bible Christianity. Near neigh- 
borhood enhances all the motives which would lead us to 
study another nation and emphasizes our obligation so to 
do. In the case of Mexico the romance of her history 
as well as the wonders of her land and the hope of her 
future renders interest in her people and in their wel- 
fare easy. 

Among the many authorities consulted in the prepara- 
tion of this work, the author would acknowledge special 
indebtedness to — 

History of Columbus, Washington Irving. 
Houses and Home-Life of the American Aborigines, 
L. H. Morgan (Government Printing-Office, Washington, D. C, 

5 



6 PREFACE. 

1881) ; also an article by the same writer in Johnson's Cyclo- 
pjedia, entitled '* Architecture of American Indians." . 

Articles by Ad. F. Bandelier, Report of Peabody Museum, 
1880. 

Native Religions of Mexico and Peru, Revelle (1884). 

Despatches of Hernandez Cortez, with introduction by 
George Folsom (New York, 1843). 

Memoirs of Captain Bernal Diaz. 

History of Mexico, by the Abbe Clavigero. 

Origin of Written Language, Rev. James F. Riggs, 
Mexico. 

Mexico, by Brantz Mayer. 

History of Mexico, H. H. Bancroft. 

Causes and Consequences of the Mexican War, Wil- 
liam Jay. 

Mexico and the United States, Gorham D. Abbott, D.D., 
LL.D. 

Twenty Years among the Mexicans, by Miss Melinda 
Rankin (1875). 

Publications of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, 
of the American Board of Foreign Missions and the Bible 
Society Record. 

For the use of valuable engravings which add much 
to the interest of its pages the book is indebted to the 
courtesy of the Missouri and Pacific Railway Company, 
St. Louis, and to the Presbyterian Board of Foreign 
Missions, New York, to whom the thanks of author 
and publisher are hereby gratefully tendered. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

A HIDDEN CONTINENT. 

PAGE 

Columbus the Pathfinder.— The first Sight of Mexicans.— The 
Delusion of the Age. — Mexico before the Conquest. — Geogra- 
phy of the Country. — Climate. — Productions 17 

CHAPTER II. 

EARLY SETTLERS OF MEXICO. 

Votan — Whom did he Find in Mexico ?— Old Paths thither.— 
A New Nation. — Toltec Remains.— The History of a Word . 29 

CHAPTER III. 

THE VALLEY REPEOPLED. 

Village Indians. — Dialects. — Aztecs. — Maps and Histories. — 
Character. — Mexico Founded. — The City Described. — Tez- 
cuco. — Ruined Cities. — Communistic Society. — Pueblos ... 36 

CHAPTER IV. 

LAWS AND LAWGIVERS. 

Mistakes of Early Historians. — Indian Republics.— Modern In- 
dian Communism. — The Aztec Clan. — Secession. — The Tez- 
cucans. — The Confederacy. — Tribal Council. — The Chief-of- 
Men. — Tribal Laws 50 

7 



8 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTEE V. 

ON THE WAR-PATH. 

PAGE 

A Nation of Warriors. — To Arms ! — Armor. — Dress. — Commis- 
sary Department. — The Fight for Chapultepec. — The Price of 
an Election. — Tactics in War. — The Banner of the Tribe. — 
The Captives. — Triumphal Processions. — Foray in 1497. — 
Effects of War 61 

CHAPTEE VI. 

SACRED PLACES AND PEOPLE. 

The Home of the Gods.— Star- Worship.— The One True God.— 
An Aztec Martyr. — The Temple of Hungry Fox. — The War- 
God and his Brother. — The Hearer of Prayer. — Feathered 
Serpent and his Work. — Too much Pulque. — The Temple of 
the Fair God. — Great Teocallis. — Priests 70 

CHAPTEE VII. 

THE HABITATIONS OF CRUELTY. 

The Aztec Hereafter. — Human Sacrifices.— Cannibalism. — Pen- 
ances. — Self-Sacrifice. — Year-Binding 83 

CHAPTEE VIII. 

CIVILIZATION OF MEXICO. 

Surprising Ignorance. — A New Species of God. — Freight-Car- 
riers. — Merchants. — A Mexican Home. — Currency. — Markets. 
— Baths. — Gardens. — Tyranny of Custom.— Manners. — Cook- 
ery. — Dress. — Appearance. — Art-Work. — Funerals 92 

CHAPTEE IX. 

AMONG THE BOOKS. 

Origin of Written Language. — Indian Written Languages Com- 
pared. — Varieties in Penmanship. — Mexican Authors. — Their 
Eomish Imitators. — Celebrated Manuscripts. — Make-Up of an 
Aztec Book. — Language. — An Indian Poet. — Numeration. — 
Measurement of Time , 105 



CONTENTS, 9 

CHAPTEE X. 

CHILD-LIFE IN MEXICO. 

PAUE 

Endurance. — Obedience to Parents. — Penances. — An Indian 
Baby. — Naming a Man. — Housekeeping in Anahuac. — Steps 
in Education. — Discipline. — Public Schools. — Girls' Work in 
the Temple. — Boys' Work. — Amusements. — Mimic War. — 
Fishing-Day. — Snaring Game. — Cadet-Life. — Graduating- 
Day. — Marriage. — A Midnight Bevel. — Motherly Care.— Sick 
Children.— Baby-Victims.— The Youth of Hungry Fox . . . 113 

CHAPTEE XL 

A GATHERING CLOUD. 

Strange News in Mexico. — Aztec Tyranny. — Old Hopes Ee- 
vived. — Portents. — Montezuma's Fear. — The Earliest Spanish 
Colonies. — Slave-Hunts. — Grijalva's Expedition. — Hernandez 
Cortez. — Unwelcome Guests. — Soldier-Missionaries. — First 
Lessons in Christianity 128 

CHAPTEE XII. 

NEW SPAIN. 

A Cool Eeception. — Taking Possession with the Sword. — The 
First Tribute. — Palm Sunday. — A Welcome at Last. — The 
Camp on the Beach. — Teuthile. — Marina, the first American 
Christian. — Presents to Montezuma. — Startling Despatches. — 
Presents sent Home to Spain. — " Come no Farther." — First 
Sermon to Aztecs. — A Great Surprise. — Totonacan Visitors. — 
Exploration 140 

CHAPTEE XIII. 

CEMPOALLA TO TLASCALA. 

New Seville. — Hospitalities. — New Allies. — Cortez as a Mission- 
ary. — The New Encampment. — The Thin Edge of a Wedge. 
— Anxiety in Mexico. — Another Aztec Embassy. — Breach 
Widens Between Old Foes. — Spanish Duplicity. — A Eeligious 
Visit. — Change of Public Sentiment in Mexico. — March from 
Cempoalla. — Sinking the Ships. — Beauties of the Eoad. — A 
Frigid Zone. — A Highland Chief. — Tlascala. — A Week of 
Battles. — Spanish Victories in Peace and in War 151 



10 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

HO FOR THE CAPITAL ! 

. PAGE 

Are they Gods, or are they Men? — An Aztec Plot. — Reception 
in Cholula. — The Snare Discovered. — Cruel Vengeance. — The 
Business of Conversion. — One Ray of Gospel Light. — More 
Aztec Gifts. — Aztec Position Explained. — The Road to Mex- 
ico Blocked. — Ascending a Volcano. — Another Embassy . . 169 

CHAPTER XV. 

MEXICO REACHED AT LAST. 

First View of City. — A Thrilling Message. — An Indian Fort- 
ress.— Beautiful Iztapalapa. — Reception in Mexico. — Indian 
Etiquette. — Montezuma's Visit. — His Story. — The Spanish 
Quarters. — Visiting Montezuma. — A Sermon. — Two Parties in 
Mexico. — More Preaching. — Were the Aztecs Cannibals? — 
The Secret Chamber 183 

CHAPTER XVI. 

A CAPTIVE CHIEF. 

The Aztecs at Home. — Bad News from Villa Rica. — Plots and 
Counterplots. — The Spaniards not Gods. — Seizure of Monte- 
zuma. — Spanish Justice. — The Humbled Chief. — The Pleas- 
ures of Captivity. — Search for a Harbor. — A Southern Colony 195 

CHAPTER XVII. 

THE AZTECS REBEL. 

Aztec Conspiracy. — The Tezcucan Chief. — Arrested. — Aztecs 
Swear Allegiance. — A Spanish Quarrel. — Cortez Demands the 
Temple. — Fears of Aztec Revolt. — The Spaniards Consent to 
Go. — Shipbuilding. — Enemies from Cuba. — Cortez makes 
Friends of Enemies. — Conquers Narvaez. — Bad News from 
Mexico, — Return of Cortez. — Alvarado's Cruelty. — Aztec Ven- 
geance. — Siege of the Garrison. — The Death of Montezuma. 
—A Fight on the Temple-Roof.— The War-God has a Tum- 
ble. — Moving Fortresses. — Bridges Destroyed. — The Noche 
Triste 203 



CONTENTS. 11 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

MEXICO SHALL BE CONQUERED 



f 

PAGE 



A Rally at Tlacopan — Retreat to Tlascala.— Victory at Otum- 
ba.— What will Tlascala Say?— Indian Hospitality.— Juan 
Yuste — An Aztec Bribe— A Successful Foray.— Preparations 
to Attack Mexico.— Death of the White Man's Friend.— Over- 
looking Mexico.— Deserted Tezcuco.— New Allies.— Subduing 
the Valley.— New Boats.— Plans for Attack.— Cutting the 
Causeway.— Spaniards on a High Altar.— Fire and Sword — 
The Tribes Rally.— Cortez Destroys the City.— Guatemozin 
Captured 221 



CHAPTER XIX. 

THE HEEL OF THE OPPRESSOR. 

Ruined Mexico.— Extending Conquests.— Search for South Seas. 
Rebuilding the City.— Guatemozin Betrayed.— Spanish Cru- 
elty.— Converting the People.— Cortez Sends for Missionary 
Helpers.— Their Character.— Spiritual and Financial Success. 
—Conservative Indians.— The Monks Befriend them.— Abuses 
of Power.— Enslavement of Indians.— The Council of the In- 
dies.— Rebellion.— The Chiefs on Horseback.— Riveting the 
Chains.— Draining Lake Zumpango.— Teaching the Indians . 238 



CHAPTER XX. 

VICEROY ALT Y. 

Sufferings of Colonists.— The Seven Cities of Cibola.— Uncivil- 
izing Mexico.— The World's Treasure-House — New- World 
Gold for Old- World Wars.— Buying Heaven with Cash.— The 
Pope and his Imperial Partner.— The Inquisition Set Up.— 
Expulsion of Jesuits.— Splendid Churches.— Mexican Chris- 
tianity a Failure.— Those Gachupinesf— Loyalty to Spain.— 
Hidalgo's Shout for Independence.— His Betrayal and Death. 
—Nursing a Roman Viper.— The First Congress and its Con- 
stitution.— Morelos and his Heroes.— His Martyrdom .... 259 



12 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTEE XXI. 

MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE. 

PAGE 

Liberty Bides her Time. — Shall the Bourbons be Restored?— 
Iturbide's Blow for Independence. — The Plan of Iguala. — 
Victoria Guadalupe. — The Emperor Iturbide. — His Mistake. 
— His Exile. — His Death. — The Last Foothold of Spain. — 
Benito Juarez. — Rise of the Church Party. — The Law of 
Juarez. — The Constitution of 1857.— European Interference. 
— King-Making, and what Came of It. — Maximilian's Death. 
— Progress of Constitutional Liberty. — Present State of Mex- 
ico .... . " 277 



CHAPTER XXII. 

TO MEXICO BY BAIL. 

The Mountain of the Star.— Vera Cruz.— The Castle.— Through 
the Hot Lands. — Climbing the Sierras. — Indian Hucksters. — 
Orizaba. — The City of Mexico. — Its Mountain-Sentinels. — 
Gardens. — Markets. — Water- Works. — Grand Plaza. — Paseos. 
— Alameda. — Memories of the Inquisition. — Churches for Sale. 
— The Grand Cathedral. — Aztec Belies. — The Mexican Fourth 
of July. — Streets and Houses. — City Improvements.— Educa- 
tion. — Illiteracy. — Worshipers. — Street Scenes. — Chapultepec. 
— Sulphur-Factory in a Volcano. — The Two Virgins. — Their 
Political Friends 307 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

THE LAND : ITS PEODUCTS AND CITIES. 

Present Limits of Mexico. — Its Harbors. — Prospective Changes. 
— Tunneling Volcanoes. — Boad-Makers. — Unexplored Re- 
gions. — The Siesta. — The Seasons.— Want of Forests. — The 
Cactus Family. — The Maguey and Pulque. — Intemperance. — 
" An Agricultural Cosmos." — Mines. — Indian Character. — The 
Mozo. — Railroading. — Burros. — Mexican Homes. — Popula- 
tion.— The Hacienda.— Old Tezcuco and Tula.— Monterey 
and its Suburbs. — Chihuahua. — Zacatecas. — Guanajuato. — 
Queretaro. — Guadalajara. — Puebla 336 



CONTENTS. 13 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

"A LIGHT THAT SHINETH IN A DARK PLACE." 

PAGE 

The Gospel in the Sixteenth Century. — Political Influence of 
Luther's Bible.— Eomish Antagonism. — Bible Translations. — 
The Translation of Enzinas. — Escape from the Inquisition. — 
The Iron Rule in Mexico.— The Circulation of the Bible in 
Mexico.— A Reading-Circle in the Fields.— The Story of San 
Roman. — Miss Rankin the Pioneer Missionary. — Blessed Re- 
sults 360 

CHAPTER XXV. 

REGENERATION OF MEXICO. 

Praying in an Unknown Tongue. — Francisco Aguilar. — The 
Church of Jesus. — Death of Aguilar. — Rev. H. C. Riley. — 
Conversion of Manuel Aguas. — His Death. — Rev. James 
Hickey— The Mission Work by the Baptist Church (South). 
— The Presbyterian Church. — The Presbyterian Church 
(South). — Friends.— Methodist Episcopal Church. — Methodist 
Episcopal Church (South).— The A. B. C. F. M— Martyrs.— 
Native Evangelists. — Devoted Service. — Glorious Outlook . . 380 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGH 

Stucco-Relief, Palanques, Chiapas Frontispiece. 

POPOCATAPETL ("THE HlLL THAT SMOKES") 23 

Plantation of Maguey ( Agave Americana) 25 

Ancient Toltec Paeace at Tula (or Tullan), Mexico . . 33 

Ruins in Yucatan 43 

A Pueblo (Communal Dwelling) in New Mexico ... . 45 

A Taos Pueblo 47 

Mexican Indian Mat-Makers (Modern) 59 

Mexican God of War, Huitizilapochtli, or Humming- 
bird 73 

Temple of Tikal, a Suburb of Flores, Yucatan .... 77 
Great Sacrificial Stone of the Aztecs, Mexico .... 79 

Aztec Goddess of Death 85 

Traders on the Canal (Modern) 95 

The Splendid Trogon of Mexico 97 

Indigenos of Northern Guatemala 133 

Map of the Mainland of Yucatan, Mexico 134 

Present Inhabitants of Merida, Yucatan 137 

Orizaba, as seen from the Mexico and Vera Cruz Rail- 
road ; 153 

Map of the March to Mexico 154 

Transcontinental Profile of Mexico 166 

Mexican Basket-Sellers 168 

Pyramid of Cholula 173 

Near View of Popocatapetl 18] 

Map of the Valley of Mexico 186 

Map of Mexico and Tezcuco 204 

Mexican Teocallis 215 

Peublo of Northern Mexico 219 

The Valley of Tula, Mexico 231 

15 



1 6 ILL USTBA TIONS. 

PAGE 

Food- Vender 237 

The Great Cathedrae of the City of Mexico 241 

Church of Teotihuacan, Mexico • . . . 249 

Refreshments for the Hungry (Mexico) 257 

A Pueblo, as now Existing in New Mexico . . . . 263 

Miguel Hidalgo 271 

Barrack at Saltillo 277 

High Bridge on the Mexico and Vera Cruz Railway . 281 

Benito Juarez . ...... 287 

Church of San Domingo, City of Mexico 298 

Mexican Officers 301 

Street in Vera Cruz 308 

Indian Hut in the Tierra Caliente .311 

City of Mexico (Distant View) . . 313 

The City of Mexico 315 

Terminus of Lake Chalco Canal, Mexico City .... 317 

Merchants' Bazaar, Mexico . . .322 

Seller of Bird-Cages, Mexico 323 

Mexican Market- Woman ... -. 325 

A Mexican Senora 326 

Chapultepec Castle 329 

Summit of Iztaccihuatl, Mexico 330 

On the Canal, near Mexico City 337 

The Ox-Cart . ... 338 

Water-Peddler, Mexico 340 

Gathering the Juice of the Maguey for Pulque . . .341 

Shop for the Sale of Pulque 343 

Native Indian Abode 347 

Making Tortillas, Mexico 348 

Mexican Water-Works 349 

City of Monterey, Mexico . 353 

City of Queretaro 357 

Washing at the Well 360 

Monterey 375 

Church of San Francisco, Monterey 376 



ABOUT MEXICO. 



CHAPTER I. 
A HIDDEN CONTINENT. 

UNTIL Christopher Columbus, by his voyage across 
the Atlantic, had proved that the world is round, 
no one in Europe thought of going westward to reach 
India. Merchants and travelers took the old caravan- 
routes through Syria and the Valley of the Euphrates, 
or crossed Egypt and went by the Red Sea. Every 
path to the land of gold led men eastward. Marco 
Polo, a Venetian traveler of the thirteenth century, 
journeyed by these old paths so far east that he stood 
on the pine-clad hills of Xipangu (Japan) and looked 
out on the broad Pacific Ocean. He supposed that this 
was one of those great flat seas by which the flat world 
was encircled, and that if a vessel ventured too far upon 
it contrary winds might blow such unwary sailors over 
the edge of the world. Columbus, who was a student 
as well as a sailor, read the adventures of Marco Polo 
and other travelers, and came to quite a different con- 
clusion. If the world is round, as he believed, the 
water which Marco Polo saw stretching far to the east 
was the same ocean as that which washed the western 
shores of Europe. Japan and India could be reached 

2 17 



18 ABOUT MEXICO. 

by a vessel from Europe steered due west across the At- 
lantic Ocean. 

For eighteen long years Columbus talked and dreamed 
of this voyage. At last, in the year 1492, after many 
disheartening delays, he sailed from the harbor of Palos, 
in Spain, with a little fleet of vessels provided by his 
sovereigns, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Cas- 
tile, king and queen of the united Spains. It was on 
this voyage to India that Columbus discovered the little 
island of Guana-hane, one of the Bahamas, named by 
him " San Salvador." He supposed it to be one of the 
outlying islands of Asia, and that by pushing on still 
farther toward the west he would soon reach that con- 
tinent. His great desire was to open up to his coun- 
trymen a new path to the Spice Islands, the pearl-fish- 
eries and the mines of gold, silver and precious stones 
of which they so fondly dreamed, and, better still — for 
Columbus was an earnest Christian — to tell the story of 
the cross to its heathen people. He hoped also to build 
up a new empire for Spain and to become its viceroy, 
with power to transmit the office to his posterity. He 
returned to Spain with the news of his discovery, but 
went back once and again to pursue his search for India, 
expecting to find some gate through these western islands 
to that country. How strong was his hope is shown by 
the fact that on his third and last voyage he took with 
him Arabic interpreters, so that when he met any Moham- 
medans — at that time the rulers of India — he would be 
able to hold conversations with them in a language un- 
derstood by all followers of Mohammed. 

We can scarcely imagine the ignorance of those times. 
In 1502, Yasco Nunez de Balboa, a Spanish explorer, 
climbed to the top of the mountains on the Isthmus of 



A HIDDEN CONTINENT. 19 

Darien and looked off over the vast expanse of water 
toward the west, never realizing that he had discovered a 
new ocean or that the peak on which he stood formed part 
of the backbone of a new world. For many years after 
the western shore of the Atlantic was discovered all who 
landed upon it supposed they were in some part of Asia. 
They called those countries " the West Indies," and the 
people of both North and South America " Indians." 

In 1502, Columbus was earnestly examining the coast 
of Central America, hoping to find some passage like the 
Straits of Gibraltar which would prove to be the long- 
looked-for gateway to the land of gold. Indeed, so 
eager was he in this vain pursuit that he lost sight of 
everything else. 

It was during this voyage that Europeans obtained 
their first glimpse of Mexican wealth and civilization. 
One party from the little squadron had landed on an 
island near Cape Honduras to obtain a supply of fresh 
water. While on the beach they saw a canoe of unusu- 
al size making its way toward the point on which they 
stood. Its passengers and crew made a large company ; 
they seemed to be strangers, and to have come from a 
long distance. Fernando Columbus, who was with his 
father at the time, describes the boat as "eight feet wide 
and as long as a galley, though formed of the trunk of 
a single tree and shaped like those common in the 
islands. In the middle of the canoe there was an 
awning made of palm-leaves, not unlike those of the 
Venetian gondolas, which formed so close a covering 
as to protect whatever it contained against the rain and 
waves. Under this awning were women and children, 
goods and merchandise. The canoe was rowed by 
twenty-five men." 



20 ABOUT MEXICO. 

The admiral gave thanks to God for having afforded 
him samples of the commodities of those countries with- 
out exposing his men to toil or danger. He ordered 
such things to be taken as seemed most valuable, 
amongst which were cotton coverlets and tunics with- 
out sleeves, curiously worked and dyed with various col- 
ors ; coverings for the loins, of similar material ; large 
mantles, in which the female Indians wrapped them- 
selves like the Moorish women of Granada ; long wooden 
swords with channels on each side of the blade, edged 
with sharp flints that cut the naked body as well as 
steel ; copper hatchets for cutting wood, bells of the 
same metal, and crucibles in which to melt the metal. 
For provisions they had roots and grains, a sort of wine 
made of maize, resembling English beer, and great quan- 
tities of almonds * of the kind used by the people of New 
Spain for money. 

The Spaniards were very much struck by the modest 
bearing of these new comers, and considered them su- 
perior to any natives they had yet seen. Columbus 
ordered their canoe to be restored to them, with Euro- 
pean goods in exchange for those he had taken. He 
then let them all go except one old man who was 
more intelligent than the rest, and who seemed to 
be their chief — or cacique, as such a person is called 
in Spanish histories of the New World. This cacique 
could understand the language spoken in Honduras, and 
through his interpreters from that country Columbus 
heard about the old man's home at the west. 

The historian adds : " Although the admiral had heard 
so much from the Indians concerning the wealth, polite- 
ness and ingenuity of these people, yet, considering that 
* Cacao-beans, of which chocolate is made. 



A HIDDEN CONTINENT. 21 

these countries lay to leeward, and he could sail thither 
from Cuba whenever he might think fit, he determined 
to leave them for another occasion, and persisted in his 
design of endeavoring to discover the strait across the 
continent, that he might open the navigation of the 
South Sea, in order to arrive at the spice countries." 

How absorbed Columbus was we may know when we 
read the whole story of this neglected opportunity; for 
such it proved to be. The natives of Honduras had 
pictured Mexico as rich and populous beyond all com- 
parison. They dazzled the Spaniards with stories of 
people who could afford to wear as their ordinary ap- 
parel crowns and bracelets and anklets of gold, with 
garments heavy with golden embroidery ; of others, who 
had chairs and tables inlaid with gold, and who ate and 
drank out of vessels of the same precious metal. They 
professed to be familiar with Indian coral and the spices 
which had made the trade with India so valuable to 
Spain. Everything in their own land of which the 
Spaniards boasted these Indians claimed would be found 
in that wonderful country toward the setting sun. Even 
the ships and cannon and horses with which they had 
been at first so astonished actually figured in some of 
these fancy-sketches of Mexico. 

But, though Columbus was convinced that he was in 
the neighborhood of a rich and civilized people, he had 
no time to stop by the way until he had fulfilled his 
great commission from Heaven to enrich the Church from 
the treasures of India, and to set up the standard of 
Christ among its heathen people. He supposed that he 
was near one of the provinces of Tartary and that he 
would soon reach the Ganges, and he was fired with a 
holy ambition to be the first son of the Church who 



22 ABOUT MEXICO. 

should tell the -story of redemption on the banks of this 
sacred river of the Hindus. He did not dream that be- 
tween him and the object of his search two continents 
stretched their vast length almost from one polar circle 
to another, and that behind them rolled the widest ocean 
in the world. 

It was with this great purpose in view that Columbus 
resolutely turned away from this half-opened door to 
Mexico and left the discovery aud conquest of that 
country to a man who had the same idea of going west- 
ward to India, and the same desire to bring the heathen 
into the fold of the Church, butv who had time to turn 
aside to take possession of all the gold-mines that opened 
along his way. 

We need not turn our back on Mexico because Colum- 
bus did. Let us lift the veilby which it was so long 
hidden from the European world and look at this beau- 
tiful land as it appeared 

BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 

Mexico, which occupies the tapering southern end of 
North America, was then held by various tribes, the 
chief of which were called "Aztecs." Yucatan, which 
had recently been brought under tribute by these warlike 
people, was the southern limit of their conquest. Their 
other boundaries are unknown save that with different 
kindred tribes they occupied all of what is now known 
as Mexico, 

For grandeur of scenery and variety of climate and 
productions this country is unsurpassed by any other 
on the globe. The great mountain-chain which runs 
along the Pacific shore of both continents widens out in 
this region into lofty table-lands. One of these, called 




POPOCATAPETL ("THE HILL THAT SMOKES "). 



24 ABOUT MEXICO. 

the " Valley of Mexico," is nearly one thousand square 
miles in extent and from five thousand to eight thousand 
feet above the level of the sea. Three hundred years 
ago one-tenth part of this plateau was covered with 
lakes, both salt and fresh. These have dwindled in size 
since those early days, probably because the surrounding 
hills have been stripped by the invaders almost bare of 
the luxuriant forests which once covered them. Lofty 
hills form a rampart on three sides of this table-land. 
On the north it opens out on a great natural road lead- 
ing along the level mountain-tops for a distance of 
twelve hundred miles. It was probably along this 
great highway that many of the early settlers of Mex- 
ico came from their homes at the North. 

Rising out of this vast mountain-mass are snow-capped 
peaks, one of which — the highest land on our continent 
— is a mile and a half higher than the lofty platform on 
which it stands. Along the nineteenth parallel of lati- 
tude rise five volcanoes. Two of these overlooked the 
Aztec capital and bore the Indian names they still hold. 
Popocatapetl — " the hill that smokes " — has been doing 
its best to deserve that title ever since it received it; 
Iztaccihuatl — " the woman in white " — is so called from 
its fancied resemblance to the form of a woman lying 
with her face upturned to the sky, a snowy robe folded 
across her breast. 

Descending on each side from this rocky platform to 
the sea, the traveler passes over three great natural ter- 
races, each of which has a different climate and produc- 
tions differing with the elevation. In the Aztec country, 
which lay entirely within the tropics, the whole scale of 
vegetation could be found. Forests of evergreen oaks 
and pine flourished on the mountains, below the snow- 



A HIDDEN CONTINENT. 25 

line, with wheat and other northern cereals. Below 
these, in richer variety, were the flowers and fruits of 
the temperate zone. Maize, which is found everywhere 
in Mexico, attains its most luxuriant growth in this mild- 
er climate. The cactus family grows in almost endless 
forms, the maguey with its rich yellow clusters of flowers, 
and other trees and plants native to this soil. 



plantation OF maguey (Agave Americana). 

The mountains are often cleft by deep ravines in which 
Nature revels in moisture and warmth and brings out 
her richest vegetable treasures. Magnificent trees root- 
ed far below lift their heads into the sunshine, and flow- 
ering vines clamber everywhere in a wilderness of beau- 
ty and fragrance. Gay butterflies glance in the sunlight 
like blossoms on the wing. Air and earth are alive with 
myriad insects, while birds as rich in flashing plumage as 
any gem in all the mines of Mexico enliven the woods 
with songs unheard in other tropical countries. Some 



26 ABOUT MEXICO. 

of the most beautiful garden-flowers came from this 
land. They were first carried to Europe by visitors to 
Mexico, and thence, after being domesticated in the old 
gardens of Spain and France, they have found their 
way back to their native continent as emigrants from 
the Old World. All the dahlias can trace lineage to some 
gay beauties that once grew on these .mountain-top mead- 
ows of Mexico. It was years before they could be civ- 
ilized enough to dress in double sets of petals, and the 
gardeners of this day have only to let them alone for a 
while, and they go back to their wild Mexican sin- 
gleness. 

It is in the low lands along the sea that we find the 
luxuriance and variety of tropical vegetation. "Even 
the sand-dunes," says a recent writer, " blaze in color, 
lupines in high waving masses of white, yellow and 
blue, great mats of glittering ice-plants with myriads of 
rose-colored umbels, lying flat on the white sand, while 
all the air is sweet with fragrance." 

• Here were multitudes of plants which are at home 
only in Mexico. Among them was the cacao, from 
which the natives prepared their delicious chocolate, and 
whose seeds passed from hand to hand instead of coin. 
The vanilla, which grew only on the seashore, was used 
then as now for flavoring. The cochineal was also 
raised on the coast; it was the insect which fed on the 
leaves of a cactus-plant. From the dried body of the 
female was procured a brilliant red color much used by 
the Aztecs in dyeing their cotton cloth. 

Next to the bamboo, there is probably no plant which 
can be used in so many ways as the Mexican agave, or 
maguey. Of its bruised leaves were made broad sheets 
of paper, on which the most of Mexican history was 



A HIDDEN CONTINENT. 27 

written. Prepared in another way, these leaves thatched 
the poor man's cottage. Its thorns served for pins and 
needles ; its delicate fibres, for thread ; and those which 
were heavier were twisted into cords or ropes. From 
its roots a palatable and nutritious food was prepared, 
while its juices, when fermented, made an intoxicating 
liquor on Avhich the old Aztecs were accustomed to get 
drunk. 

On the coasts there were also forests of mahogany, 
Brazil-wood, iron-wood, ebony, Campeachy-wood, with 
numberless varieties of the palm tree. These forests 
swarmed with small animals, such as tapirs, porcupines, 
ant-eaters, sloths, monkeys and armadillos, with alliga- 
tors in the streams. Scorpions, centipedes and other 
venomous creatures abounded everywhere. The silk- 
worm also is indigenous to many parts of the country. 

Mexico has few rivers of great length, and these are 
navigable only where they cross the narrow belt of low- 
land to reach the sea. 

The mineral wealth of Mexico exceeded that of any 
other land, not excepting Peru, so famed for its precious 
metals. Gold was once the staple production of the 
country, as silver is now. It was found in placers, and 
was more easily worked than silver. With all that 
natives and foreigners have taken out of the earth, it is 
supposed that many valuable mines remain to be dis- 
covered. Of iron the natives knew nothing, though 
mountains of solid ore were found when the Spaniards 
opened this great mineral storehouse. Tin is abundant 
in Michoacan and Jalisco. Copper is very common, and 
lead is found in almost every silver-mine. In Oajaca are 
found amethysts, agates, turquoises and carneliaus. 

The beautiful marbles of Mexico have been used for 



28 ABOUT MEXICO. 

building purposes from time immemorial. The natives 
employed porphyry and jasper in decoration. Various 
kinds of greenstone resembling emeralds were found, 
and were in great demand for ornaments. Amber came 
from Yucatan, and pearls from California. The salt- 
lakes of the table-land yielded abundance of that pre- 
cious commodity, which formed a chief article of com- 
merce between the people of that region and less favored 
tribes. 



CHAPTER II. 

EARLY SETTLERS OF MEXICO. 

AMONG the pictures carved on the ancient mc-nu- 
-£*- ments in Mexico are those which represent Votan, 
whose history belongs to the earliest dawn of civilization 
in this Western world. He and his companions are said 
to have come from a foreign land in ships. They found 
the people, from the Isthmus to California, clothed in 
skins, dwelling in caves or rude huts and speaking one 
language. There are evidences that Votan brought with 
him to this continent a knowledge of the one true God, 
which he taught to the people. As we are further told 
in these traditions that no temples or altars were known 
in Votan's day, he must have lived before the Mexican 
pyramids were built, since these all seem to be designed 
for places of worship. 

Votan and his friends married the women of the 
country, and after establishing a government they made 
several voyages to their native land. On his return from 
one of these trips Votan reported that he had been to see 
the ruins of a building erected by men who intended to 
climb up on it to heaven, and that the people who lived 
in its neighborhood said that it was the place where God 
gave to each family its own language. 

Who were these aboriginal inhabitants of America 
whom Votan taught, and when was it that they emerged 
from their caves and huts to gaze on these first white 

29 



30 ABOUT MEXICO. 

men who came to this continent? At some time in 
their history they no doubt migrated from Central Asia, 
that cradle of the human race. As to when or by what 
road they found their way to America we cannot be so 
sure. A glance at the map of the world will show that 
away up among the icebergs of the polar circle the north- 
western corner of America comes so near the north-east- 
ern corner of Asia that their outlying islands seem like 
stepping-stones from one continent to the other. The 
Alaskan Indians, on our side, and their neighbors in 
Siberia, now find no difficulty in crossing Behring's 
Straits in their little kyacks, and it is more than proba- 
ble that in the far-away past of which Mexican records 
tell, some of the wandering tribes of the Old World 
found their way to this continent by this northern 
road. 

We hear now of small colonies of Japanese on our 
western coast who have come over by still another route, 
which can be seen on maps that give the direction of the 
ocean-currents. One of these great sea-rivers runs north 
through the Pacific Ocean quite near the eastern shore of 
Asia until it is opposite Japan ; then, turning suddenly, 
it sweeps due east until it strikes the coast of California. 
The people of Asia occasionally drift over to America on 
this ocean-current. Uprooted trees of kinds which do 
not grow on this continent are found on the shore, and 
Japanese junks are stranded at the rate of about one 
every year, and sometimes, it is said, with some of 
their shipwrecked crew still alive. 

It is probable that other civilized people succeeded 
Votan in the possession of Mexico, but until some time 
in the tenth century no one of them was described. At 
that period a new nation made its appearance among 



EARLY SETTLERS OF MEXICO. 31 

the shadowy races with which the land was peopled. 
Tradition says they were white men who came from the 
north-east in companies, some by sea and some by land ; 
twenty thousand of these emigrants, led by a dignified 
old chief, are said to have come at once. They are de- 
scribed as a good-looking people, wearing long white 
tunics, sandals and straw hats. They were mostly 
farmers and skilled mechanics, and were peaceable, 
orderly and enterprising. They had left their own 
land, Huehne-Tlapallan, after a struggle of years with 
the barbarous tribes around them, and made their way 
south to Mexico — a country with which it is probable 
they had been familiar as traders. Many suppose that 
these immigrants were the same people as the Mound- 
Builders of our own country — that strange, nameless 
race whose earthworks astonish the archaeologist of to- 
day. Tools which these old workmen left behind them 
in the Ohio Valley and elsewhere are made of a kind of 
flint which is not found nearer than Mexico. Shells 
which must have come from the Gulf of Mexico have 
also been found buried in the graves of the Mound- 
Builders, showing that ages ago these people must have 
trafficked with those who lived along its shores. When 
war disturbed them in their home at the North, the more 
enterprising of them migrated to Mexico and built cities 
and temples on the same general plan as those erected by 
their forefathers, but of so much more substantial mate- 
rials that many of them have outlasted the centuries which 
have come and gone since they appeared among the south- 
ern tribes. These people went by the name of " Toltecs" 
among their Mexican neighbors and successors. When 
the later tribes came to have a written history — as they 
did about four hundred years afterward — they ascribed 



32 ABOUT MEXICO. 

all that they knew of civilization to those who pre- 
ceded them. 

The Toltecs filled the land with colossal masonry. 
Many of the temples, pyramids, castles and aqueducts 
which were in decay when Cortez arrived, in 1519, are 
supposed to have been built by these people. The half- 
buried ruins of Tula, or Tullan, one of their great cities, 
may still have been inhabited at the time of the conquest, 
but most of the places known to have been built by them 
were numbered among the antiquities of Mexico when 
Columbus was near that land, more than twenty years 
before. 

In Xochimilco is found a great pyramid with five 
terraces, built on a platform of solid rock. This rock 
has been hollowed out, and long galleries with smooth 
glistening sides formed within it. The great pyramid of 
Cholula, built by the early race, covered forty- five acres 
of ground and was fourteen hundred feet square at the base. 
A winding road led to its top, which was flat, with small 
towers for worship. All these structures were built with 
their sides squared by the points of the compass. They 
are now found buried in the depths of vast forests, far 
away from the haunts of civilized men. As the Indians 
always seem unwilling to reveal the secret of their ex- 
istence, many of these are no doubt yet unknown to the 
white race. 

The temple of Papantla, fifty miles from Vera Cruz, 
was hidden in the dense woods west of that city for more 
than two hundred years after the Spaniards landed on 
the coast, having been discovered by a party of hunters 
in 1790. This building is so old that those who could 
decipher the picture-language of the Aztecs could not 
interpret the irscriptions on its terraced sides, though 



34 ABOUT MEXICO. 

when found the characters were almost as fresh as when 
the ancient sculptors laid down their tools. It is built 
of immense blocks of porphyry put together with mor- 
tar. A stairway of fifty-seven steps leads to the top, 
which is sixty feet square. The stone facing of the sides 
is covered with hieroglyphics of serpents, crocodiles, and 
other emblems which remind one of the monuments of 
ancient Egypt. Some, indeed, have supposed that the 
builders of the old Mexican pyramids belonged to the 
same family of nations, and have even gone so far as to 
say that some of the work they left is as old as that of 
Egypt. Humboldt, who visited some of these ruins, 
traced their resemblance not only to Egyptian but to 
Assyrian architecture, and says of their decaying pal- 
aces, " They equaled those of ancient Greece and Eome 
in ornamentation." 

About four hundred years passed away, and the Toltecs 
disappeared from Mexico ; war, pestilence and famine did 
their work among these interesting people. They left ac- 
counts of their nation and polity in carefully written or 
pictured histories, some of which were extant when Cor- 
tez came ; none of them can now be found. One of the 
early Aztec chieftains made a bonfire of some of these 
books, and the Spaniards, in their fanatical zeal to blot 
out all traces of heathenism, destroyed libraries of these 
and other valuable records which would now be worth 
more to the world than all the monkish legends that 
ever were written. 

But there was much that could not be blotted out. 
The Aztec measurement of time — more perfect \han any 
known to the Greeks and the Romans — was taught to 
them by these old astrologers, who seem to have known 
the precise length of the tropical year. The ingenious 



EARLY SETTLERS OF MEXICO. 35 

system of picture-writing in use among all the tribes, the 
more enlightened of their laws and the most refined and 
humane part of their worship were a legacy from their 
Toltec predecessors. 

Very strong light is often thrown on the past by the 
history of a single word • the name " Toltec " is an in- 
stance of this. While many other Mexicans were yet 
wandering tribes these people came to the valley and 
began to build the large edifices for which they have 
since become famous, and to carve the symbols of their 
faith on the solid rocks about them. Their rude neidi- 
bors looked on with wonder. They had no word of their ' 
own to express the new and strange character of a builder; 
and when they had need to speak of such a man, they 
called him a Toltec. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE VALLEY REPEOPLED. 

AMONG those who became masters of the great table- 
-£*- land of Anahuac * after the disappearance of the 
Toltecs were several kindred tribes called Nahuas, or 
" skilled ones," who claimed to have entered Mexico at 
different times from some place at the North. Their 
civilization, which made them differ from those tribes 
that lived by the chase, was shown by their giving up 
their wandering life and settling down, one after another, 
as neighbors around Tezcuco, the largest lake on the table- 
land of Mexico. Thus they became what is known as 
sedentary, or pueblo (" village "), Indians. These peo- 
ple, like other North American tribes, have straight 
black hair, with a fondness for paint, feathers and gew- 
gaws. Their nahuatl — the word for language — meant 
"pleasant sound." This varied as much then among 
different tribes as is now the case in Mexico, where the 
people of one Indian village (especially the women) speak 
a language which those in another — not ten miles distant, 
perhaps — cannot understand, although they have been 
neighbors for a century. 

Like all Indian languages, Aztec proper names had 
a meaning and were easily written in rude signs or pict- 
ures. Thus the name of the great chief Nezacoyatl, or 
" Hungry Fox," was expressed by a picture of a fox, 

* Meaning " near the water." 
36 



THE VALLEY REPEOPLED. 37 

and its image, carved in stone, in his lordly pleasure- 
grounds on the shore of Lake Tezcuco, gave the title 
and the history of the owner. 

By giving our readers the English signification of 
these names they will have some advantages possessed by 
old Mexican readers, who, it is likely, would have stum- 
bled as often as we do over the spelling, if not over the 
pronunciation, of these words. Thus, for instance, 
Quetzalcohuatl (Icetzalcowattle), a hero-saint who figures 
in Mexican history, shall be " Feathered Serpent," and, 
instead of Huitizilapochtli — that frightful name for their 
still more frightful war-god — we will say " Humming- 
Bird," which is the decidedly mild interpretation thereof. 

The Aztec tribe with which our story has most to do 
were among the latest arrivals on the great table-lands of 
Mexico. A curious map of their migrations before they 
came there was still in existence when the Europeans 
overran the country. It was so different from the maps 
in use in Spain that the Spanish soldiers who captured it 
supposed it was an Aztec embroidery-pattern, and sent it 
as such to the old country. They also had a history of 
the tribe in picture-writing. This declares that Mexico 
was peopled by men who came out of a cave and after- 
ward traveled all over the country on the backs of turtles. 
Aztlan, the home of the Aztecs, was written with atl, a 
waved line ( — ™) — their picture-sign for water — put 
beside one of a pyramidal temple and a palm tree. We 
may know by the latter picture that Aztlan was not very 
far to the north. 

The Aztecs were a band of fierce savages who took 
refuge in the swamps near the site of the present City of 
Mexico after a migratory life elsewhere. It is quite pos- 
sible to fix the date of this last remove by records kept 



38 ABOUT MEXICO. 

by their more intelligent neighbors. A few of the Tol- 
tecs no doubt remained in the valley, and they had taught 
the Alcohuans — a tribe which preceded the Aztecs — who 
afterward became the most cultured people in Mexico. 
Their calculations were thus exact enough to guide us in 
ours, so that we know that the Aztecs entered the Valley 
of Mexico early in the fourteenth century. Their rec- 
ords also show that at that time the Aztecs were com- 
posed of seven related families, or clans, each one of 
which formed a little community guided by its own 
chief, and all bearing the same surname. In other 
words, there were only seven surnames in the whole 
tribe. 

From the outset these new comers were considered 
intruders, and were obliged to content themselves with 
a precarious footing on the neutral ground by which, in 
Indian fashion, the settlements of their neighbors were 
surrounded. They lived on fish, birds and such water- 
plants as grew in the swamp, as well as by predatory raids 
on the peaceful farmers around them. While they were 
still in this unsettled state the oracle of the tribe is re- 
ported to have spoken for Humming-Bird, their war- 
god, in this wise: 

" I was sent on this journey, and my office it is to 
carry arms, bows, arrows and shields. War is my chief 
duty and the object of my coming. I have to look out 
in all directions, and with my body, head and arms have 
to do my duty in many tribes, being on the borders and 
lying in wait for many nations to maintain and gather 
them, though not graciously." 

We can picture in imagination the wily old medicine- 
man who made this speech, and thus fixed the policy of 
the tribe on a distinctively war-basis. 



THE VALLEY BEPEOPLED. 39 

In 1325, as we learn from their old records, a great 
change took place in the condition of the Aztecs. Some 
of the tribe saw on a reedy island on the lake a splendid 
eagle perched on one of the cactus-plants with which the 
region abounds. His wings were outstretched toward the 
rising sun, and he held a writhing serpent in his beak. 
The old oracle of the tribe was consulted again. He de- 
cided that this was a token that the gods were smiling on 
the Aztecs and wished to point out this place as a site on 
which they ought to build a city. This was begun by 
sinking piles in the water. On these they first built little 
thatched cabins, with walls woven out of the reeds they 
found growing on the lake-shore, and plastered with mud. 
They called the place Tenochtitlan (or "Stone-cactus 
City"), either because of this circumstance or because one 
of their leading chiefs was called Tenoch (" Stone Cac- 
tus "). The Aztec capital — for such it became — was 
afterward named Mexico, after Mexitli, one of their gods. 

Year after year, as the tribe pushed out and increased 
in numbers and wealth, the islands on which they lived 
were linked together and to the mainland by strong cause- 
Avays of stone. The place Mexitli became impregnable to 
Indian warfare. They continued by means of their long 
dykes not only to join the island to the mainland, but so 
to pen up the waters flowing into the lake as to surround 
the city with deep water, and thus defend it in case of a 
siege. At intervals sluices were cut through the cause- 
ways, over which openings bridges were thrown that 
could be taken up in time of war. 

It is probable that for many years the tribe owned no 
other land than that on which their city stood. It was 
divided into four quarters, or calpulli, each having its 
own chief and temple, council-house, and other public 



40 ABOUT MEXICO. 

buildings. These calpulli were afterward further sub- 
divided into communities,- each living in houses large 
enough to contain a small army. The rush huts in time 
gave place to more substantial edifices, many of which 
were elegant in design and finish. In Montezuma's 
day a quarry of soft blood-red stone almost as porous as 
a sponge was discovered in the mountains near by, and 
many of the houses in the city were rebuilt of this with 
fine effect. 

The city was regularly laid out, with wide, straight, 
clean streets radiating from the central teocattis, or house 
of the gods (a plan which was followed throughout Mex- 
ico), and numerous and beautiful squares. One of 
these, the principal market-place of the city, was sur- 
rounded by splendid corridors so smoothly paved that 
they were as slippery as ice. Like Venice, the city was 
veined with canals, along which the produce of the coun- 
try was borne in numberless boats into its very centre. 

A massive stone aqueduct brought an abundance of 
pure water from a large spring at Chapultepec, a few 
miles distant. Immense reservoirs cut out of solid rock, 
with steps leading down to the level of the water, still 
remain to show the substantial character of Aztec masonry 
and enterprise. Where the branch streams of this aque- 
duct crossed the canals they were widened and left open 
on top, so that the carriers who served out water to fam- 
ilies could bring their canoes directly under these bridge- 
like reservoirs to be filled, the water being dipped out for 
them by a man stationed above. 

The houses of the better class in Mexico were built of 
stone and were seldom over two stories in height ; they 
covered a great deal of ground, having large courtyards 
in the centre. The roofs were flat and terraced, the walls 



THE VALLEY BEPEOPLED. 41 

well whitened and polished, and the floors made of the 
smoothest plaster and neatly matted. All the walls were 
very thick and strong, the ceilings being high and gen- 
erally of wood. Doors were almost unknown and chim- 
neys unheard of. 

The houses were usually kept very neatly. Walls 
were hung with cotton drapery in bright colors and 
curious feather-work. The beds were often curtained 
and quite comfortable. Though chairs and tables were 
not found even in the so-called palace of Montezuma, 
there were low seats which were easy as well as elegant. 
The house occupied by Montezuma's clan was very lux- 
urious in its appointments. Its garden was surrounded 
by balconies supported by marble columns and floored 
with jasper elegantly inlaid. In the grounds were ten 
large pools, in which all the different species of water- 
birds found in Mexico disported themselves. Sea-birds 
had tanks of salt water. All were kept pure and sweet, 
filled by pipes leading from the lake or the aqueduct. 
Three hundred men were constantly employed to take 
care of these creatures, and a bird-doctor attended to 
such as were sick. About these tanks there were pleas- 
ant corridors, where Montezuma and his brother-chiefs 
often walked to observe the curious habits of these 
feathered captives. 

Spanish writers speak also of a great collection of 
albinos, another of dwarfs and giants and deformed peo- 
ple, some of whom had been made such to provide curi- 
osities for the State museum. 

Besides the large collection of water-birds, there was 
another one of such as were found in fields and woods. 
A menagerie of wild beasts had been gathered from every 
country known to the Mexicans. 



42 ABOUT MEXICO. 

The official residence of the chiefs of Tezcuco had 
three hundred rooms ; some of the terraces on which it 
stood are still entire and covered with hard cement. Its 
richly-sculptured stones form an inexhaustible quarry for 
the house-builders of this age. The neighboring hill, 
where once was a summer retreat for these luxurious 
rulers, still shows the stone stairways and terraces which 
adorned the place. The city was quite embowered in 
trees and beautified with many parks and gardens. In 
fact, the botanical garden found at the time of the Span- 
ish conquest was a model afterward copied in various parts 
of Europe. 

Our faith in the glowing descriptions given by Spanish 
authors of Mexican art and civilization before the con- 
quest would not survive their many exaggerated and 
contradictory stories if we could not turn to the testi- 
mony left by the old inhabitants themselves. While the 
monuments reared by the Aztecs in the Valley of Mexico 
have been swept away, the temples and the dwellings far- 
ther south exist in vast and splendid desolation, proving 
that from their very beginning these later tribes were 
familiar with a style of architecture whose "lavish mag- 
nificence has never been excelled." 

A late traveler speaks of the ruins of Kabah as " orna- 
mented from the very foundation." The cornices run- 
ning over the doorways would embellish the art of any 
known era, and "amid a mass of barbarism of rude and 
uncouth conceptions it stands an offering by American 
builders worthy the acceptance of a polished people." 

The remains of Mitla — one of the holy cities of South- 
ern Mexico — are considered the finest in a country which 
can furnish ruined cities by the score. These remains 
are situated in a desert place unsheltered by the dense 




ItUINS IN YUCATAN. 



44 ABOUT MEXICO. 

forests which have overgrown and buried so many others. 
In the dry air the brilliant red and black of its wonder- 
ful frescoes have never faded. Some gifted architect of 
a forgotten age has adorned both the inner and the outer 
walls of these buildings with panels of mosaic so ex- 
quisitely wrought that " they can only be matched by 
the monuments of Greece and Rome in their best days." 
The rooms have vaulted ceilings and are in pairs, uncon- 
nected with other apartments, opening out of doors. 
Some rude artist of a later day has scrawled coarse 
figures on these walls, showing that the nameless build- 
ers of Mitla, like the Aztecs and other tribes, had suf- 
fered from invasions. The terraced roofs of many of 
these buildings are now heaped by Nature's kindly hand 
with luxuriant vegetation, and we can see where the Aztecs 
learned to make their beautiful roof-gardens. Sculptures, 
paintings, tesselated pavements, luxurious baths, fountains 
and artificial lakes, are all found in mournful decay in the 
silent depths of many a wilderness. 

The cell-like apartments of one of these elegant build- 
ings in Mitla led its observer to suppose that it was a 
convent and to name it " The House of the Nuns," but 
in comparing it with other buildings in Northern 
Mexico, some of which are now inhabited by pueblo 
Indians, we find that this must have been one of those 
joint tenement-houses which Columbus noticed in Cuba, 
and which form one of the strongest proofs that society 
throughout Spanish America was communistic. They 
were generally large and calculated to hold a clan or a 
number of related families. Some were several stories 
high and had hundreds of rooms ; in these a population 
of from one hundred to three thousand found shelter. In 
the country these fort-like villages were similar to those 



46 ABOUT MEXICO. 

human hives seen to-day in many parts of China where 
families composed of hundreds of individuals are banded 
together for mutual protection under one roof, bearing one 
name. Their communism in living thus finds expression 
in their houses. 

The dwellings of these communities were built on 
what is called the terraced plan. Imagine a house like 
a huge staircase, in which each story formed a step ten 
feet high. The whole interior was made up of numerous 
small square apartments, often arranged in pairs, having 
no connection with others, rising tier above tier, without 
any halls or stairways, each story being wider by one row 
of rooms than the one above it. 

In ruins now existing in New Mexico it is evident that 

the inmates used ladders and trap-doors in the floor or 

ceiling when they passed from one story to another.* 

Those who came into the house from the outside climbed 

to the roof of the first story by ladders, never entering, 

as we do, by doors on the ground-floor. These ladders 

were drawn up after the inmates were safely housed. 

The roof of the first story made a shelf on which to 

plant a ladder for climbing to the roof of the second, 

unless, as was sometimes the case, all the stories but the 

first had outside doorways. Each house had one or more 

rooms set apart as council-chambers for the clan or as 

places of worship. There must have been many dark 

rooms in such buildings, but these people lived in stormy 

times, and their houses w T ere fortresses. The walls, both 

* The captain sent by Mendoza (the first Spanish viceroy) to search 
for the famous "Seven Cities" speaks of "excellent good houses of 
three or four lofts high, wherein are good lodgings and fair chambers, 
with ladders instead of stairs, and certain cellars (estufas) under- 
ground, very good and paved. The seven cities are seven small 
towns, all made with this kind of houses." 



48 ABOUT MEXICO. 

inside and outside, were very thick and strong, plastered 
so carefully with a kind of white cement that they shone 
like enamel and led the Spaniards to think that these 
were palaces whose stones were plated with silver. Bright 
unfading colors were often used in decoration, and bricks 
were laid in ornamental courses. Ventilation was had by 
small apertures placed opposite each other and in a line 
with loopholes in the outer walls. Chimneys were un-> 
known to these ancient masons. The cooking for the 
community was done by a common fire, or by several fires 
if the clan was a large one. 

Outside the large cities these communal dwellings were 
often grouped by the side of some stream and surrounded 
by cultivated fields and orchards, or oftener on some com- 
manding hilltop. This was necessary in case of attack 
from hostile tribes. A group of these massive buildings 
surrounded by luxuriant trees must have presented a 
fine appearance. Some were from five to six hundred 
feet long, with wings. Towers two or three stories high 
were often added. 

The building known as the Casa Grande, on San 
Miguel River, has walls eight feet in thickness and is 
supposed to have been seven stories high, with a front 
of eight hundred feet. Near this building was another, 
with rooms built around a square. The whole country 
in this region (one hundred and fifty miles north-west 
of Chihuahua) is full of Indian mounds, in which are 
found stone axes, mills for grinding corn, broken pot- 
tery, and other tokens that this was once the home of a 
large and thriving population. 

In case of war the terraced roofs were heaped with 
missiles and bristled with defenders. When defeated, 
the survivors fled for refuge to the caves which abounded 



THE VALLEY REPEOPLED. 49 

in that mountainous country. Holes large enough for a 
living-room are found to-day dug out of the face of a 
precipice, and so high that in one case the mortar which 
was used in walling up the front of the excavation mast 
have been carried up four hundred feet. These retreats 
were generally in the most inaccessible places, where it 
would be difficult with all the skill of modern times to 
build fortifications. Water was sometimes led to these 
places by a secret pipe ; others were supplied by cisterns. 
In a cemented tank which was recently found in one of 
these cave-dwellings at the North the print of a little 
child's hand is seen as plainly as if the small fingers had 
touched the soft plaster but yesterday. In some cases 
immense pine trees have grown up amid these ruins, 
showing how long ago they were forsaken by human 
beings. 



CHAPTEE IV. 

LAWS AND LAWGIVERS. 

WHAT we know of the social organization and gov- 
ernment of the Aztec and kindred tribes has come 
down to us mostly through Spanish sources, as, excepting 
some pictures carved on temple- walls and on monuments, 
most of their early records were swept away at the time 
of the conquest. But these foreign writers knew so lit- 
tle of the peculiarities of the people they professed to de- 
scribe that their accounts are often contradictory. Thus 
a great empire is spoken of by one writer as ruled by 
the despot Montezuma. Kings elect him to his high 
office. He is surrounded by a great retinue of heredi- 
tary nobility, and princes from a score of provinces are 
obliged to attend him as hostages for the good behavior 
of their people, while a harem of a thousand dark-eyed 
beauties graces his splendid halls. On the other hand, 
Cortez informs Charles V. that some of these tribes have 
a republican form of government. Such, for instance, 
were the Cholulans, a powerful mercantile tribe about 
sixty miles from Mexico, and the Tlascalans, a race of 
bold mountaineers whom Cortez met and conquered on 
his way to that city. Of Tlascala he says : " It resem- 
bles the States of Venice, Genoa and Pisa, since the 
supreme authority is not reposed in one person. In 
war all unite and have a voice in its management and 

50 



LAWS AND LAWGIVERS. 51 

direction." Besides these republics, there were many in- 
dependent tribes. At the very door of the capital was 
Tezcuco, whose territory rivaled that of the Aztecs in 
extent, while its history, as related by Tezcucan writers 
to their adopted countrymen of Spain, shows a line of 
monarchs some of whom were claimed to be the intel- 
lectual peers of Socrates, David and Solomon. While 
the Tezcucans took precedence of the Aztecs with re- 
gard to culture, the Zapotecs of the South defied them 
as warriors. We learn from Cortez that no Aztec ever 
dared to set foot on their territory. 

There is nothing stranger in the history of the Aztecs 
than the quiet behavior of the people when their so- 
called emperor was taken captive. During a morning 
call at his palace he is arrested by Cortez, and after a 
brief explanation is carried in his litter through the 
streets by his weeping nobles to the quarters of an 
armed band of foreigners and left there a prisoner, to 
guide the affairs of his realm by their permission and 
under their direction. Nothing explains the inconsis- 
tencies of this relation or dispels the mystery which 
surrounds this Indian potentate until we study the so- 
cial customs which still prevail among the aborigines 
of America and examine the deserted homes and tem- 
ples of the very tribes in question. Such a study clears 
up many of the mistakes of early historians. We find 
everywhere evidences of a state of society so widely dif- 
ferent from that existing in Europe as to be unintelligible 
there. Cortez speaks of his host as Senor Montezuma 
— "senor " being a title applied to an ordinary Spanish 
gentleman — while in the same letter he describes the 
princes and the lords who formed the court of this 
Indian ruler. Other writers are more consistent, and, 



52 ABOUT MEXICO. 

boldly jumping to the conclusion that this was a great 
empire with a sovereign like their own, the victories 
they describe are, of course, greatly magnified. That 
this was the impression of Mexico gained by the rude 
Spanish soldiery we know from the fact that when they 
first saw the beautiful cities of the valley in their glorious 
setting of mountain and lake they feared to grapple with 
a people whose civilization in some respects outshone their 
own, and but for the dauntless courage and ambition of 
Cortez they would have turned back on the very thresh- 
old without their coveted prize. Two descendants of 
Tezcucan chiefs, who afterward described their country 
for the benefit of European readers, give their history 
the same coloring, claiming the rank of emperors for 
their ancestors. Further research has shown that all 
these were fanciful theories, and that not only in Cholula 
and Tlascala, but throughout Mexico, the republican form 
of government prevailed. 

When the Aztecs came into the valley, they were a 
group of seven distinct but related families, all speak- 
ing one language and worshiping the same gods. The 
strange, hard syllables of their seven surnames were per- 
petuated among them until some time near the close of 
the seventeenth century — almost a hundred years after 
the Spanish conquest. These families held their lands in 
common, as all American Indians do, and it is probable 
that long before they forsook their huts in the swamp for 
substantial stone houses they lived together on the com- 
munal plan. In Stephens's Travels in Yucatan we have 
a glimpse of Indian village-life as it existed then. The 
author says : " The food is prepared at one hut, and 
every family sends for its portion; which explains a 
singular spectacle we had seen on our arrival — a pro- 



LAWS AND LAWGIVERS. 53 

cession of women and children, each carrying an earthen 
bowl containing a quantity of smoking-hot broth, all 
coming down the same road and dispersing among the 
different huts. This custom has existed for an unknown 
length of time." 

Like their neighbors, these Aztecs held as their own an 
undefined territory over which they might extend their 
city as they chose. As we have seen, the ground on 
which Mexico stood was nearly all reclaimed from the 
salt marshes of Lake Tezcuco. It had about it a fringe 
of floating gardens which in part supplied the city mar- 
kets, although with the increase of population a still lar- 
ger supply was drawn from the fields and the orchards of 
tribes they had forced to pay tribute. 

The city had four calpulli, or wards, each of which was 
governed by its own chief and had its own temple and 
public buildings. These wards were further subdivided 
as the tribe increased in numbers. Not only was each 
ward sovereign in its own territory, but each of its sub- 
divisions was an independent organization so far as its 
local interests were concerned. 

The business of the tribe was transacted in the cen- 
tral council-house — teepan, or house of the community. 
This building fronted the great open square in the heart 
of the city and had a tower for defence and lookout. It 
is reasonable to suppose that it was this large building 
which was described by Spanish historians as Monte- 
zuma's palace. As the dwelling of the rich and power- 
ful clan to which the chief-of-men belonged, the tribal 
council was probably held within its chambers, that 
being the custom through all the subdivisions of the 
tribe. 

While the settlement on the lake was still new one of 



54 ABOUT MEXICO. 

these original Aztec clans, or kins, seceded in some family 
quarrel and proceeded to set up for itself on the main- 
land. In 1473 these divided clans had a fierce struggle 
on the battlefield ; the Aztecs were finally left masters. 
In punishment for their offence against the tribe, the 
Tlatilucos, as the seceders were called, were degraded by 
the tribal council to the rank of women ; no male Indian 
could fall lower than that. Their young men were denied 
the rank of warriors and became mere burden-bearers for 
their victorious brethren. In the peace which followed, 
the vanquished men were set to work on the great teocattis 
which the Aztecs were then building. After years of 
alienation the Tlatilucos were conditionally restored tu 
their former rank and allowed their birthright as war- 
riors, but the two parties never ceased to be bitter enemies. 
The old hatred was only smothered, and broke out afresh 
in the time of the Spanish invasion, when an opportunity 
was taken to pay off old scores, with interest, and those 
who had been seceders were in league with the enemies 
of the Aztecs. 

Among the tribes which had settled in the valley be- 
fore the Aztecs built their island-city were the Alcohuans, 
afterward called Tezcucans, after their city, Tezcuco. 
They were a more humane and cultivated people than 
the Aztecs, upon whom, from the first, they seem to have 
looked down as an inferior race. As they advanced in 
wealth and civilization they extended their conquests to- 
ward the north. 

About one hundred years before the Europeans made 
their appearance in the valley, the Tezcucans — who were 
on the losing side in a conflict with their neighbors, the 
Tepanacs, who appear at that time to have been masters 
of the table-land— entered into a league with the Aztecs 



LA WS AND LA WGIVERS. 55 

and Tlacopans. In gratitude for the valuable assistance 
rendered by the former tribe at a time when their nation 
was nearly crushed, the Tezcucans gave their once-despised 
neighbors the tribute they levied on the conquered Tepa- 
nacs, and henceforth the Aztecs were masters of the val- 
ley. The three allied tribes agreed to stand by each 
other under all circumstances. In any war in which all 
united the spoil was divided according to terms agreed 
upon among themselves, Tezcuco and Mexico, as the 
largest tribes, taking the lion's share. Each of the con- 
federate powers was absolute in its own territory, and 
might carry on war and levy tribute for itself. These 
tribes lived in friendship for about one hundred years, 
when, as might have been expected, they fell out over 
their plunder. By this time the Aztecs had succeeded 
in bringing an immense territory under tribute, carrying 
their banners in triumph from the Atlantic to the Pacific 
and as far south as Guatemala and Yucatan. The whole 
government of their nation was organized on a strictly 
war-basis, with a general at its head. 

The commander-in-chief of the Aztecs was elected for 
life or during good behavior. The office was not in any 
sense hereditary, although Montezuma, the chief in power 
at the time of the Spanish conquest, was the nephew of his 
predecessor, " the bold and bloody Ahuitzotl." The old 
warriors of the tribe, the head-chiefs of the confederate 
tribes and the leading priests were the electors of this 
officer. These electors constituted a tribal council, which 
was the fountain of all power, religious and civil. They 
not only elected the chief and deposed him if he dis- 
pleased the tribe, but after his inauguration they decided 
all questions in peace or in war. The chief seems to 
have been an executive of their decrees, which, like those 



56 ABOUT MEXICO. 

of old Venice, were despotic, and often cruel. The man 
chosen by this council bore the title of " chief-of-men " 
(tlaca-teeuhtli). 

Among the Aztecs the chief had an associate in of- 
fice whose business it was to look after the revenues of 
the tribe. This man had the strange title of " snake- 
woman" (cohua-cohuatl), meaning, probably, a mate. 
From their first appearance in history these warlike 
people had subsisted on the plunder taken from other 
tribes, so that whoever had the care of the revenues 
from this source had the life of the nation iu his hands. 
This associate chief went through the same ceremonies at 
the time of his inauguration, and wore the same dress, as 
the " chief-of-men," and in time of emergency he was ex- 
pected to head the army. 

Tlascala had four chiefs, who acted in concert ; the 
Zapotecs had a high priest or divine ruler, and the Tez- 
cucans also had but one. 

It is a fact established by one «of the oldest sculptures in 
Mexico that the custom of double headship was common 
there from the earliest times. A nameless artist has given 
us on the walls of Palenque a picture representing the 
two chiefs in their official regalia — the very dress which 
Montezuma wore, as described by Spanish writers. 

Among the qualifications which were required in the 
chief-of-men were gravity and dignity of manner, fluency 
of speech and bravery in war. The prolonged ordeal 
through which each candidate for ordinary chieftainship 
was called to pass was a test of his character and of his 
fitness for office which none but those possessed of every 
Indian virtue could endure, and any one selected from 
among those thus distinguished could scarcely fail to be 
worthy of public trust. The candidate was obliged to 



LAWS AND LAWGIVERS. 57 

pass through four days and nights of torment. He ate 
but little, and that of the poorest food ; he was sur- 
rounded every hour by a crowd who subjected him to 
every possible indignity ; he was jeered at, taunted and 
scourged until he was bleeding and exhausted. This 
over, he spent a year in close retirement and abstinence. 
After another four days and nights of the most rigorous 
and cruel tests of his patience and his fortitude, he was 
brought out in triumph to enjoy once more the society of 
friends and allowed to dress and feast at will. The 
head-chief wore his hair tied up on the top of his 
head with a narrow band of leather dyed red. 

As badges of their office the "chief-of-men" and his as- 
sociate wore certain ornaments which it was death for any 
one else to assume. One of the green stones so much ad- 
mired in those days was hung from the bridge of the nose; 
a golden lip-ring was another appendage. Wristbands 
of exquisite feather-work, armbands and anklets of gold 
elaborately chased, added to the brilliancy of his attire. 
Montezuma is described as wearing a large square man- 
tle of richly-embroidered cotton cloth tied about his neck 
by two of its knotted corners, a broad sash with fringed 
ends draped about his loins, sandals with golden soles and 
thongs of embossed leather. His garments were sprinkled 
with precious stones and pearls, with a long and hand- 
some tuft of green feathers fastened on the top of his 
head and hanging down his back. At the time of his 
introduction to Europeans he was about forty years of 
age, tall, thin, with long, straight black hair and but little 
beard. He had a paler color than most of his race, and 
a serious, if not a melancholy, expression. If half that 
we read of Montezuma's epicurean tastes and inactive 
habits is true, it is reasonable to suppose that he was a 



58 ABOUT MEXICO. 

confirmed dyspeptic, which may in part account for his 
gloomy views of life at this time. 

The Mexicans seem to have had no written laws. It 
is said that in early times their laws were so few that 
everybody knew them by heart. In later days a record 
was kept of suits in law, and the decisions given in these 
cases served as precedents. Thus was established a com- 
mon law founded on long usage. The despotic decrees 
of the council were often given after consulting the 
priests, who were the oracles of the tribe. When the 
gods had decided, there was no appeal. A number of 
such cases occurred in the troublous times when the 
Aztecs were at war with the Spaniards. It is said that 
all the wisdom of the great Hungry Fox could not avail 
in a controversy with these priests. The chief loathed the 
worship of Humming-Bird and sought to bring his peo- 
ple back to the altars of the Toltecs. But in vain. The 
oracles declared that all the troubles in which the tribe 
were then plunged were due to the neglect of human 
sacrifices, and it was decided that henceforth the cruel 
war-god should have his fill of them. 

The punishment of crime was most severe. Every 
petty theft was punished by the temporary enslavement 
of the culprit to the person he had wronged, or by death. 
Stealing a tobacco-pouch or twenty ears of corn or pilfer- 
ing in the market-place was thus atoned for. In the lat- 
ter case the thief was clubbed to death on the spot. Any 
one who was guilty of stealing gold offended Xipe, the 
patron god of those who worked in the precious metals ; 
he was therefore doomed to be skinned alive before the 
altar of this deity. The effect of these severe laws against 
robbery was everywhere seen in treasures being left 
unguarded. A man who died drunk was dressed for 




MEXICAN INDIAN MAT-MAKERS (MODERN). 



60 ABOUT MEXICO. 

burial in the robes worn by the goddess of strong drink, 
his patron saint. Drunkenness in young people, since it 
unfitted them for public duty, was punishable with death, 
though the same fault was winked at in an older person. 
Slanderers fared somewhat better, and escaped with singed 
hair. Any member of the calpulli who failed to till the 
little portion of the public land assigned to him became 
an outcast, and was condemned to menial service. If he 
failed to till the lands of any minor for whom he was 
guardian, his breach of trust was punished with death. 

True slavery, in our sense of that word, was unknown 
among these people. As outcasts they forfeited their 
tribal privileges, but could be readopted by their breth- 
ren after some meritorious act. 

It was a capital offence to wear any part of a chiefs 
regalia or for a man or a woman to put on the dress be- 
longing to the other sex or to change the boundaries of 
lands. These old communal lands were most jealously 
guarded. The people had strong local attachments, and 
it is said that thousands in Mexico are still living on the 
plots of ground tilled by their ancestors hundreds of years 
ago. Many of these were not Aztecs, though most of them 
had been at some time tributary to them. 

We learn from picture-records that four cities on the 
coast of Mexico paid each, yearly, four thousand hand- 
fuls of the feathers needed in the exquisite mosaic-work 
for which these tribes were so famous, two hundred bags 
of cocoa, forty tiger-skins, one hundred and sixty kinds 
of certain colors needed in the temple-worship or for 
personal decoration. Other places paid tribute in cochi- 
neal, dyestuffs, gold, precious stones, besides the victims 
for sacrifice — the most valuable of all revenues. 



CHAPTER Y. 
ON THE WAR-PATH. 

A MOJSTG some of the tribes of Anahuac a farmer or 
-£*- a mechanic or a merchant might be counted as a 
man ; not so was it with the fierce Aztecs. Every male 
in that tribe was born to be a warrior ; it was only when 
he was maimed, sick, old, or, worse than all, an outcast 
from his clan, that he could not claim the privilege of 
going to the battlefield. Even the priests took a leading 
part in every conflict. It was not only their business to 
interpret the will of the gods, but they marched at the 
head of the Aztec troops bearing a little image, or talis- 
man, of the most famous of the war-gods of Mexico. It 
was also the duty of the priests to give the signal for the 
battle to begin. When war was decided upon by the 
great council, a messenger was sent to the tribe to be 
attacked, and in case the help of their allies and tribu- 
taries was needed word was sent also to them. No one 
dared to refuse to join the Aztecs when they took the 
war-path. 

Like the Sioux and other tribes on our borders, the 
Aztec braves had a war-dance around a blazing fire the 
night before they set out on a raid, and ceremonies as 
heathenish and disgusting as any of those in which our 
wild Indians engage were common among them. The 
humble wigwams on our prairies and the proud, lux- 
urious city enthroned on Lake Tezcuco sent out the 

61 



62 ABOUT MEXICO. 

same kind of men in war-time. We can readily believe 
in the savage orgies held in the splendid square of 
Tlatililco when we remember the impurity and cruelty 
of old Eome when her warriors, builders and poets, her 
historians and statesmen, were moulding a civilization 
which made her the mistress of the world. 

When the great snake-drum on the temple sounded 
the call to arms, the warriors from fifteen years old and 
upward gathered at the armory or house of darts belong- 
ing to their ealpulli, where the weapons of their clan were 
kept. We have pictures of the armor they wore which 
correspond with the descriptions given by Cortez and his 
soldiers. The spear was their main weapon. It was made 
of hard and elastic cane, with flint points fastened into a 
slit at the end with gum and the strong fibres of the 
maguey. The spear sometimes had several of these flint 
tips. Their swords were made of tough wood, with 
grooves cut along the edge, in which was inserted a 
hard stone whose sharp edge was easily broken, but 
which cut like a blade of the finest steel. The bow was 
made of cane, and the arrows were carried in a quiver on 
the shoulder. They also had slings for throwing stones, 
which they used very skillfully. Shields were made of 
canes netted together, inwoven with cotton, encased with 
gilded boards and decorated with feathers. These were 
carried on the left arm, and were so hard that the Span- 
iards found that nothing but the arrows from their cross- 
bows could pierce them. 

Every warrior, from the chief-of-men down to the 
rank and file, was painted. The common soldier some- 
times had scarcely any other dress than the colors of his 
clan, fancifully applied to face and body; at best, he 
went to the field with head, feet and arms bare. A 



ON THE WAR-PATH. 63 

quilted cotton tunic two fingers thick was so much like 
a coat of mail that the Spaniards were very glad to bor- 
row the cheap and useful fashion. A chief wore his hair 
cropped above his ears, and a wooden helmet, over which 
he often stretched the skin of some wild bird or animal, 
the grinning teeth and fierce eyes of a bear or a4ig@r sur- 
mounting the painted face. The head of an eagle with 
hooked beak was a favorite device to represent the spirit 
of the wearer or the name he had won in battle. Lip- 
pendants, ear-rings and other gewgaws were worn if the 
soldier's means permitted such extravagance. The chief- 
of-men and his associate wore their hair tied with strips 
of leather colored red with cochineal. The towering 
plume of green feathers on the helmet was a mark of 
the highest rank which no other warrior dared to assume. 
A green stone hung from the bridge of the nose, and the 
ear- and lip-rings were of wrought gold. Bands of 
exquisite feather-work encircled the arms, wrists and an- 
kles of the chief. On the field of battle a long tress of 
feather-work hung from the crown to the girdle. From 
this was suspended a small drum or horn, which the 
chief used in making signals to his men. As habits 
of luxury increased among the Aztecs their chief went 
out in a splendid litter. Gayly-dressed pages carried a 
gorgeous canopy over his head ; and if obliged to alight, 
he was supported by chiefs of the highest rank. Cortez 
declares that these Indian chiefs came out to meet him in 
battle as they would go to some holiday parade, and that 
even the hardy Tlascalans had in this respect declined 
from their republican simplicity. 

The army was readily prepared for a march. The 
common soldier carried his own provision. He had in 
his pouch corn-cake baked very hard, ground beans and 



64 ABOUT MEXICO. 

chia (a berry out of which he made a palatable drink). 
Coffee was unknown among these people until after the 
conquest, and chocolate was a beverage which none but 
the wealthy could afford. He had plenty of red pepper, 
and used it not only as a condiment, but also as food. 
Salt for seasoning was obtained from the lake that sur- 
rounded the city. Cornstalk sugar was a common 
luxury, and formed part of the bill of fare in camp. 
Special carriers accompanied the army, loaded with 
whatever was needed, such as tents, tent-poles, mats for 
bedding, camp-kettles and ammunition. They also had 
the ornaments with which braves who should distinguish 
themselves in battle were to be decorated before they left 
the field. One of these tokens was the privilege of wear- 
ing a wrap of peculiar color. If the army passed 
through the land of one of its tributaries on its way, 
provisions were always furnished to it by the people, 
and friends and allies brought presents as a token of 
good-will. 

The Mexicans needed no other strongholds than their 
massive houses and temples. The country was peculiarly 
adapted to their methods of warfare. Paths like that 
through the famous pass of Thermopylae, or still more 
easily defended, were common. There were hilltops 
and precipices from which stones could be rolled down 
on an assailing force, and retreats among the mountains 
where a great army could hide in ambuscade as did 
thirty thousand of the men of Israel behind the city 
of Ai in Joshua's day. The burning of the teocallis 
was always the token of victory. The warriors of the 
place who survived either fled or were taken captive, 
and the women and children, who were generally sent 
to some cliff-dwelling among the hills before the storm 



ON THE WAR-PATH. 65 

broke on their homes, came back — if they came at all — 
to a scene of utter desolation. 

But war did not always end thus. When a tribe 
refused to pay a valuable tribute, no attempt was made 
to destroy it, but merely to force obedience. The Aztecs 
once paid tribute to the Tepanacs, a tribe on the main- 
land, near Mexico. When their city became strong 
enough to rebel, a struggle took place for the mastery, 
in which the Aztecs were victorious. The immediate 
cause of this war was the possession of the great spring 
at Chapultepec, by which the city was supplied with 
water through an aqueduct. As this was on the yaotlalli, 
or neutral ground, between the Aztecs and Tepanacs, any 
attempt of the latter to cut off the water-supply of Mexic© 
was taken as a challenge to war. Their success in this 
struggle made the Aztecs the leading power in the table- 
land. They became the head of a strong confederacy of 
tribes, and ruled with a high hand for nearly a hundred 
years, until, hated and feared by all their neighbors and 
crushed at home by the despotism of the council, the 
Aztecs were ripe for rebellion, and their beautiful domain 
fell an easy prey into the hands of the foreign invaders. 
It is said that when Montezuma was asked why he 
had suffered the little republic of Tlascala to lift a 
defiant head between Mexico and the sea, he replied 
that the Aztecs would have crushed it long ago but 
that they needed victims for sacrifice and could get them 
readily in the skirmishes which constantly took place 
between the two tribes. Thus, with war as their chief 
business in life and a religion which demanded thou- 
sands of human sacrifices yearly, the Aztecs were glad 
of any pretext for an attack on their neighbors. The 
choice of a new war-chief was sure to bring on a con- 



66 ABOUT MEXICO. 

flict with somebody, as the ceremonies of his induction 
to office were never complete until he had brought home 
a train of captives. Some of these he must capture with 
his own hands — a feat which was sometimes accomplished 
by strategy, but oftener in a hand-to-hand fight. Al- 
though all these tribes believed that heaven was made 
for warriors and that none had higher seats there than 
those who died on the bloody stone of sacrifice, yet they 
had a natural love of life, and never yielded to their fate 
without a struggle. A Mexican's first aim in battle was 
not to kill his enemies, but to take captives. He would 
sacrifice a score of lives rather than fail in this aim. 

The tactics of the Aztecs in war were those of rude 
nations. A favorite device was to feign retreat, and 
thus to decoy their victims into snares. Their ingenuity 
in such stratagems was equaled only by the patience with 
which they were carried into execution. The most dar- 
ing warriors, and even the "chief-of-men" himself, would 
hide in some pit dug on a road toward which the enemy 
was enticed, and here they would remain motionless for 
hours, even days, like tigers waiting for a chance to 
spring on their hapless victims. They never left the 
field without carrying off their dead and wounded — a 
custom which sometimes turned victory into defeat. 

These tribes all went into battle with a defiant war- 
whoop. Each clan had its own war-cry — usually its own 
name — and every pueblo had its standard. The device 
of Mexico was a cactus on a stone, rudely painted on a 
banner and carried on a pole high over the troop by a 
chosen standard-bearer ; and it was as high a point of 
honor then as now to defend the flag at all risks. 

When captives were taken, they were secured, if many, 
by wooden collars and fastened together in gangs ; if few, 



ON THE WAR-PATH. 67 

each warrior cared for his own prize. In the old picture- 
records of this country and carved on the stones of the 
monuments captors are seen holding prisoners by their 
long hair. On the sides of the sacrificial stone these 
scenes are carefully cut, the hand of one figure being 
raised to grasp the head-ornaments of his victim, who 
drops his weapons helplessly. Sometimes the captives 
helped to bear the spoils of war to the city of the con- 
queror. In every case they were considered as sacred 
objects devoted to the war-god, and were well fed and 
cared for. Ransom was entirely out of the question. 
The captor dared not spare his victim's life even when 
his own was in danger, as any loss in this respect was 
defrauding the war-god. The lynx-eyed priests were 
ever on the watch to detect and punish those who would 
be merciful, if any such there were in those dark days. 
The careless warrior who lost a captive and made the 
excuse of one of old, "As thy servant was busy here and 
there he was gone," met the same doom : " Thy life shall 
go for his life." When the wretched victims had been 
led home in triumph, they were taken first to the chief 
teocallis, or house of the gods, and after bowing to Hum- 
ming-Bird and his hideous brother they were marched 
solemnly around the great stone of sacrifice, then taken 
away to a house set apart for those who were thus ap- 
pointed to die. The home-coming of such an expedition 
was a great event. The warriors were received with the 
wildest din of music ; flowers were showered upon them, 
and the air was filled with the odor of burning frankin- 
cense. The old men of the tribe carried the censers, 
standing in rows on each side of the path, their long 
hair tied on the back of their heads with gay strips of 
leather, and sometimes they bore a shield with a rod and 



68 ABOUT MEXICO. 

rattle, which they sounded in token of rejoicing that they 
were the fathers of such braves. Along the road were 
erected bowers decked with the choicest flowers to be 
gathered in that flowery land. 

In 1497 a great army was sent out by the confederated 
tribes. It went far southward to Tehuantepec, and came 
back loaded with plunder and with multitudes of captives. 
Some of the ruined cities now found in those solitudes 
may then have been laid waste, but no record remains to 
tell of the scenes of carnage and rapine which must have 
marked this campaign. The confederates afterward 
ravaged all the Totonac region as far east as the Gulf- 
coast, swept it clean and recolonized it with their own 
people. 

The victors in the tribal wars cared not to change the 
customs or the laws of a subjugated people ; all they asked 
was tribute, and the question was often settled in one 
battle. When this was concluded by the burning of 
the teocallis — the signal of surrender — the amount and 
kind of articles of tribute and the time when this was 
to be paid were immediately arranged. The vanquished 
party were henceforth watched with jealous care by a tax- 
gatherer appointed by the victor ; a house was set apart 
for his use and as a place of storage for the tribute until 
it should be sent away. Some tribes paid their tribute 
every eighty days, and others once a year. This tribute- 
money was sometimes borne to the capital on the backs of 
human victims who had been chosen by lot to suffer for the 
tribe on the altars of the conqueror. These sad proces- 
sions must have been a common sight even in the few 
peaceful days known among these war-loving people. 

After each fresh conquest the Aztecs adorned their city 
with a new temple, bearing the name of the conquered 



ON THE WAR-PATH. 69 

people and filled with their gods. These senseless 
blocks of wood and stone were prison ers, and as such 
were punished severely when the tribe they represented 
rebelled. The victors sought to make the worship of 
these captured idols acceptable by stationing in each 
such building priests from the tribe from which the 
idols were taken. 

At the time of the Spanish invasion the whole country 
seemed to be on the eve of one of those terrible conflicts 
by which some of the fairest portions of the earth had 
been desolated. The Aztecs had maintained their suprem- 
acy for nearly a hundred years, and now the tribes far and 
near, outraged by their oppressions, were brooding over 
their wrongs, awaiting some leader who should head a 
new confederacy and mete out justice to Mexico. She 
was drunk with human blood, and the tide of war was 
turning — as, in time, it always will turn against a people 
whose only right is might. Unheard by it, God had 
said of the beautiful Aztec city, as he had said of Baby- 
lon of old, "The cup which she hath filled, fill to her 
double." 



CHAPTER VI. 

SACRED PLAGES AND PEOPLE. 

A BOUT thirty miles north of Mexico are the remains 
-£*- of Teotihuacan, a city so old that it was falling into 
decay when the Aztecs entered the valley. The ground 
upon which it stood seems to have been built over by 
succeeding generations. Three successive concrete plat- 
forms for houses, one above the other, have been found 
buried under the cornfields which have flourished there 
for centuries. So large was this city that its ruins cover 
a space twenty miles in circumference. It was a shrine 
where of olden time the native worshipers flocked with 
their votive offerings — little clay images, men's heads, 
arrows and pottery decorated in bright colors. Thou- 
sands of these now strew the plain or are brought to 
light by the rude ploughs of the country. There are 
two large pyramids — one dedicated to the sun, the other 
to the moon — standing like grass-grown hills among 
these ruins. One wide, straight street — called " the 
Path of the Dead" — is raised above the level of the 
plain and leads up to the pyramid of the moon. This 
is bordered by many small pyramids, which are sup- 
posed to contain the now-nameless builders of these 
great monuments. 

This worship of the sun and the moon seems to have 
at one time prevailed throughout Mexico, and was still 

70 



SACRED PLACES AND PEOPLE. 71 

retained in all the temples when other forms of idolatry- 
were introduced by later settlers. In some forgotten age 
of their history the Mexicans had " exchanged the truth 
of God for a lie." Their belief in an invisible Creator 
and Ruler of the universe and the names and the char- 
acter they gave him show that the ancestors of these 
people must have known of the one living and true 
God. They spoke of him as " He who is all in him- 
self," "He in whom we live, all-wise, all-seeing, al- 
mighty and everywhere present, the Giver of every good, 
a Being of infinite purity and grace and the hearer and 
answerer of prayer." No images of this God were made ; 
a prayer said to have been found among the old Aztec 
records tells us how he was regarded. Besides the sad 
picture which it gives us of the famines which often 
prevailed in Mexico, it reveals the breathings of one 
who, like Cornelius of old, was "a devout man and 
prayed to God alway:" 

" O our Lord, protector most strong and compassionate, 
invisible, impalpable, thou art the giver of life. Lord 
of all and Lord of all battles, I present myself here 
before thee to say a few words ; the need of the poor 
people, the people of none estate or intelligence. Know, 
O Lord, that thy subjects and servants suffer a sore 
poverty that cannot be told of more than that it is a sore 
poverty and desolateness. The men have no garments, 
nor the women, to cover themselves with, but only rags 
rent in every part, that let the wind and cold in. If 
they be merchants, they now sell only cakes of salt and 
broken pepper. The people that have something despise 
them, so that they go out to sell from door to door and 
from house to house ; and when they sell nothing, they 
sit down sadly by some fence or wall or in some corner, 



72 ABOUT MEXICO. 

biting their lips and gnawing their nails for the hunger 
that is in them. They look on one side and on the other 
at the mouths of those who pass by, hoping, peradven- 
ture, that some one will speak some word to them." 

Hungry Fox, a great Tezcucan chief, built a temple to 
this god toward the close of his long life, when he had 
become heartsick at the abominations of the religion of 
the Mexicans. This temple was nine stories high. A ' 
tenth story, overhanging the others like a canopy, was 
painted black, to represent the sky at night, gilded with 
stars outside and decorated within with precious gems 
and metals in the highest style of art known to his peo- 
ple. This temple he dedicated u To the Unknown God." 
No image of him was allowed in this beautiful shrine, 
and nothing but incense, fruit and flowers was offered 
upon its altar. A sonorous piece of metal struck by a 
mallet called the worshipers together* 

The common people seem to have known but very little 
of this good and great being. The gods they served were 
like those who made them — fierce, unholy and delighting 
in blood. Thirteen of these were superior to the rest, 
and two hundred were of lower rank. At the head of 
all these the Aztecs put their frightful war-god, Huiti- 
zilapochtli, or " Humming-Bird." This god was repre- 
sented as a man with a broad face, a wide mouth and 
terrible eyes. He was girt about with a golden serpent 
ablaze w T ith jewels, and held a bow in one hand and a 
bunch of golden arrows in the other. His dress glit- 
tered with gold, pearls and precious stones. He wore a 
necklace of human faces wrought in silver and hearts of 
gold. His left foot was shod with the feathers of the 
tiny humming-birds which gave him his name. At the 
feet of this god stood a little one called Milziton, or 




MEXICAN GOD OF WAR, HUITIZILAPOCHTLI, OR HUMMING-BIRD. 



74 ABOUT MEXICO. 

" Little Quick One," which was borne by the priest at 
the head of the army in time of war. When this 
hideous idol was first seen by Europeans, there stood 
before it a brazier of burning coals in which lay three 
hearts just torn from the bleeding breasts of human 
victims. 

Humming-Bird had a younger brother, a favorite with 
the Tezcucans, who was also a war-god. His name, 
Hacahuepanenexcolzin, is almost as bad as his dispo- 
sition, and we would not venture to write it except to 
give one of the curiosities of Mexican spelling. These 
two gods stood side by side in the old temple in Mexico, 
fitting representations of the dark-minded priests who 
made them. " The smell of this place," says Bernal 
Diaz, an old Spanish soldier whom we shall often quote, 
" was that of a charnel-house." We cannot wonder that 
whitewash and scrubbing-brushes were always brought 
into use when Cortez got possession of one of these blood- 
stained shrines. 

Another prominent figure in Mexican mythology was 
Tezcaltipoca, " the Hearer of Prayer." His image was 
of black shining stone. An ear hung by a string from 
his neck, on which smoke was pictured, whose ascending 
wreaths represented the prayers of his distressed people. 
Stone seats were put in some street-corners of Mexico, in 
the hope that this god would rest upon them when he 
visited the city. On these sacred seats no one else was 
permitted to sit. 

By far the most interesting character among these gods 
was that of Quetzalcohuatl, or " Feathered Serpent," the 
god of the air. Stripped of all the romance with which 
he is invested, this old hero appears as a tall, fair-faced 
man of a different race from any of those which inhab- 



SACRED PLACES AND PEOPLE. 75 

ited the valley. He had a broad forehead and long black 
flowing beard and hair; and came to Mexico from some 
distant land on an errand of benevolence. Some sup- 
pose him to be the leader of the Toltec tribes, and to 
have come with their seven ships which figure in Mex- 
ican history; but this is by no means clear. Neither 
does he seem to be the Votan of other traditions, al- 
though he did the same good work among the people 
which is ascribed to that hero. It was Feathered Ser- 
pent who taught these still-barbarous tribes those arts of 
peace so foreign to savage natures. The Mexican calen- 
dar and picture-writing were his invention. The riches 
which lay hidden in the bowels of the earth were all un- 
known until he unveiled them and showed men how to 
dig and refine gold and silver and to work in all precious 
metals. During his stay the land became a very Eden. 
Cities arose, and in the heart of the wilderness fair fields 
were opened to the sun. But these bright days did not 
last. The powers of evil became envious of the benev- 
olent god of the air, and he was obliged to flee for his 
life. 

The Mexicans tell a story of the rivalry between 
Tezcaltipoca and Feathered Serpent which is worthy of 
heathen idol-makers. Tezcaltipoca, fearing that he was 
about to lose the reverence of the people, disguised him- 
self as a hoary-headed sorcerer and persuaded Feathered 
Serpent to drink pulque, or the fermented sap of the 
maguey. The event proved that it is no safer for a 
god to indulge in such intoxicating beverages than it is 
for men to do so. Poor Feathered Serpent became tipsy 
and wandered out of the country in disgrace. On his 
way to the sea to return to his own land he stopped at 
Cholula, where he found hearts open to receive him; 



74 ABOUT MEXICO. 

" Little Quick One," which was borne by the priest at 
the head of the army in time of war. When this 
hideous idol was first seen by Europeans, there stood 
before it a brazier of burning coals in which lay three 
hearts just torn from the bleeding breasts of human 
victims. 

Humming-Bird had a younger brother, a favorite with 
the Tezcucans, who was also a war-god. His name, 
Hacahuepanenexcolzin, is almost as bad as his dispo- 
sition, and we would not venture to write it except to 
give one of the curiosities of Mexican spelling. These 
two gods stood side by side in the old temple in Mexico, 
fitting representations of the dark-minded priests who 
made them. " The smell of this place," says Bernal 
Diaz, an old Spanish soldier whom we shall often quote, 
" was that of a charnel-house." We cannot wonder that 
whitewash and scrubbing-brushes were always brought 
into use when Cortez got possession of one of these blood- 
stained shrines. 

Another prominent figure in Mexican mythology was 
Tezcaltipoca, " the Hearer of Prayer." His image was 
of black shining stone. An ear hung by a string from 
his neck, on which smoke was pictured, whose ascending 
wreaths represented the prayers of his distressed people. 
Stone seats were put in some street-corners of Mexico, in 
the hope that this god would rest upon them when he 
visited the city. On these sacred seats no one else was 
permitted to sit. 

By far the most interesting character among these gods 
was that of Quetzalcohuatl, or "Feathered Serpent," the 
god of the air. Stripped of all the romance with which 
he is invested, this old hero appears as a tall, fair-faced 
man of a different race from any of those which inhab- 



SACRED PLACES AND PEOPLE. 75 

ited the valley. He had a broad forehead and long black 
flowing beard and hair; and came to Mexico from some 
distant land on an errand of benevolence. Some sup- 
pose him to be the leader of the Toltec tribes, and to 
have come with their seven ships which figure in Mex- 
ican history; but this is by no means clear. Neither 
does he seem to be the Yotan of other traditions, al- 
though he did the same good work among the people 
which is ascribed to that hero. It was Feathered Ser- 
pent who taught these still-barbarous tribes those arts of 
peace so foreign to savage natures. The Mexican calen- 
dar and picture-writing were his invention. The riches 
which lay hidden in the bowels of the earth were all un- 
known until he unveiled them and showed men how to 
dig and refine gold and silver and to work in all precious 
metals. During his stay the land became a very Eden. 
Cities arose, and in the heart of the wilderness fair fields 
were opened to the sun. But these bright days did not 
last. The powers of evil became envious of the benev- 
olent god of the air, and he was obliged to flee for his 
life. 

The Mexicans tell a story of the rivalry between 
Tezcaltipoca and Feathered Serpent which is worthy of 
heathen idol-makers. Tezcaltipoca, fearing that he was 
about to lose the reverence of the people, disguised him- 
self as a hoary-headed sorcerer and persuaded Feathered 
Serpent to drink pulque, or the fermented sap of the 
maguey. The event proved that it is no safer for a 
god to indulge in such intoxicating beverages than it is 
for men to do so. Poor Feathered Serpent became tipsy 
and wandered out of the country in disgrace. On his 
way to the sea to return to his own land he stopped at 
Cholula, where he found hearts open to receive him ; 



76 ABOUT MEXICO. 

there he stayed for twenty years. The people built 
temples in his honor and sat at "his feet to learn. Like 
Cain, " the Fair God," as he was called, disapproved of 
bloody sacrifices, and commanded his followers to offer 
nothing on his peaceful altars but sweet incense and the 
fruits of the earth. After twenty happy years Feathered 
Serpent left Mexico by the way he came. His snake- 
skin boat was waiting for him on the shore of the Gulf. 
Turning to his friends who had followed him, he bade 
them farewell, promising that some day he would come 
again from his home toward the rising sun and take pos- 
session of their country. 

The white race to whom this old hero belonged are 
indebted to him for their successful entry into Mexico. 
At the time the Spanish vessels made their appearance, 
in 1517, there was a universal expectation that the Fair 
God was about to return, and the white sails of the ves- 
sels were mistaken for bright-winged birds who had come 
to bring back their benefactor from his long exile. 

The Aztecs adopted this god, among many others, after 
they came to Mexico ; his shrine at Cholula was visited 
by multitudes of devotees from all parts of the country. 
This city was older than Mexico, and is supposed by 
many to have been founded by the Toltecs. There, on 
the top of the famous pyramid of Cholula, was a large 
hemispherical temple in honor of this Fair God. An- 
other temple was reared to him within the serpent-wall 
of the great temple of Mexico ; it was entered through a 
gate fashioned like the mouth of a hideous dragon. The 
black, flame-encircled face of his image enshrined there 
and the altar dripping with blood had taught the people 
to think of him as a fit companion for the war-god him- 
self — that most bloodthirsty of all Mexican deities. 




TEMPLE OF TIKAL, A SUBURB OF FEORES, YUCATAN. 



78 ABOUT MEXICO. 

There were thousands of temples in Mexico. They 
were built in the form of terraced pyramids with stair- 
ways on the outside leading to a paved platform on the 
top, where all worship was carried on. The great temple 
of Mexico was three hundred and seventy-five feet high. 
Each of its lofty terraces had its own flight of steps, ris- 
ing one above the other on the southern side of the pyra- 
mid. In their worship the priests, with the victims 
chosen for sacrifice, climbed the first of these stairways 
and passed entirely around the terrace until they reached 
the next flight of steps, and so, ascending in solemn pro- 
cession, they wound on up and up to the great altar in 
sight of multitudes assembled on housetops and in the 
great square which surrounded the building. Three 
storied towers arose on the flattened top, and between 
these was the awful stone of sacrifice. The weight of 
this stone was twenty-five tons. It was an immense 
round block of green porphyry elaborately carved with 
strange figures illustrating acts of worship, and humped 
on its upper surface, so that the breast of the victim, 
bound and stretched upon it, could better be reached by 
the sacrificial knife. In the centre was a dishlike cavity 
with a groove running from it to the edge of the altar, to 
lead awav the blood. The whole was a mute but elo- 
quent witness to the character of the sacrifices offered 
upon it. 

Each temple was not only a place of worship, but a 
watch-tower from whose commanding height priestly 
guardians overlooked their congregation. Like watch- 
men, they used to call out the hours of the night through 
their trumpets. The sacred fires were in two stoves near 
the altar. These were fed with wood, and, burning all 
night, shone out over the city. Here, too, were the 



80 ABOUT MEXICO. 

observatories where astrologers studied the heavens or 
in that more spiritual worship they had learned of the 
Toltecs adored the starry host circling overhead. 

In the towers which formed the corners of the great 
enclosure were deposited, after cremation, the ashes of the 
dead heroes of the tribe. In one of these, also, was kept 
a huge snake-skin drum, which was used to call the peo- 
ple together to witness a sacrifice or for war. The sound 
of this drum could be heard, it is said, far beyond the 
city limits — sometimes to a distance of eight miles. 

These houses of worship were always the principal 
buildings in every town or hamlet in the land. Besides, 
there were many others on hilltops and sacred places 
throughout Mexico. One of them stood in the centre 
of every settlement. It was surrounded by a wall, which 
was often turreted and always high and strong • for in 
time of war it was around these temples that the battle 
raged most fiercely. Fronting the principal roadways, 
there were entrances to the enclosure on all four sides. 
These roads stretched, wide, clean and straight, several 
miles beyond the city, so that a retreating army, when 
pursued by the enemy, might have no hindrance if it 
sought the protection of the gods. 

Standing on one of the lofty towers of the great tem- 
ple in Mexico, Cortez counted four hundred places of 
worship in that city alone. Of the chief teocattis (house 
of the gods) he writes to Charles V., " The grandeur of 
its architectural details no human tongue is able to de- 
scribe." The square in which it stood was surrounded 
with the great serpent-wall, each of whose four sides 
was a quarter of a mile long, giving room within the 
enclosure for a town of five hundred inhabitants. Forty 
high and well-built towers were along this wall. The 



SACRED PLACES AND PEOPLE. 81 

largest of these, says Cortez, had forty steps leading to 
its main body, which was higher than the tower of the 
principal church in Seville. Another writer says, 
"There were seventy temples within the square, each 
one of which had its images and blazing fires. Besides, 
there were granaries where the first-fruits of the land 
were gathered for use in the temple, storehouses for 
other kinds of tribute, a house of entertainment for 
pilgrims from a distance, a hospital tended by priests, 
an arsenal and a library, besides a garden where flowers 
were raised for the temple-service and accommodations 
for many of the priests/ 7 Curious imagery wrought in 
stone, woodwork carved, inlaid or richly painted, orna- 
mented the interior of every apartment of the great 
building.* Within the main temple were three large 
halls adorned with these sculptured figures and the rich 
feather-work hangings which were among the highest 
efforts of Aztec art. An army of priests was needed 
for the elaborate service of this temple. It is said that 
five thousand were employed in the great teocallis, besides 
women and children in multitudes. Seventy fires were 
to be kept up day and night. Incense was offered four 
times every day — viz., sunrise, midday, sunset and mid- 
night. Besides their sacrificial duties, the priests were 
the school-teachers, historians, poets and painters of the 
tribe. They must have been hideous objects, dressed in 
long black robes, with blackened faces and tongues torn 
and bleeding with frequent penances. Their hair, which 

* In the year 1881 excavations were made in front of the cathedral 
in Mexico, where this building once stood, and a few feet below the 
surface were found the old capitals of the door-posts of the temple. 
They were heads of large stone serpents, each ten feet long and five 
feet high, with feathered ornaments carved out of solid stone. 
6 



82 ABOUT MEXICO. 

was never cut nor combed from the time they entered the 
temple-service until they left it, was matted with blood 
and with cords twisted into the long mass. The chief 
priests were more elegantly dressed on state occasions. 
A costly and magnificent robe like that of the god w 7 hose 
day he celebrated marked the high priest, of the nation, 
A huge tuft of white cotton worn on the breast was his 
sign of office. There were a few priestesses, who lived a 
nun's life in the cloisters of this temple. Both priests 
and nuns were free to come and to go, but those who 
had made a vow never to marry were punished with 
the utmost rigor in case they broke their vow. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE HABITATIONS OF CRUELTY. 

THE Aztecs believed in the immortality of the soul, 
both of men and of beasts. Heroes who died in 
battle and those who sacrificed themselves to the gods 
had the highest place their heaven could offer. They 
were supposed to be in the service of the Sun, and that 
after singing in his train as he passed through the heavens 
their souls went to beautify the clouds and birds and 
flowers with colors 

" Bright as a disbanded rainbow." 

Even women and little children — especially those who 
died in the service of the gods — had as bright a hope 
as heathenism could offer. After death the women spent 
four years in heaven, and then were permitted to become 
birds, with the privilege of coming back to the scenes of 
earth if they wished, to live on honey and flowers. Hell 
was merely a place of darkness. 

Yet, with these comparatively agreeable provisions for 
the future, the Aztec religion, wherever it prevailed, made 
this world "the region and shadow of death/' The 
Psalmist must have had in mind such a religion as 
this when he prayed that God would have respect to 
the covenant, since the " dark places of the earth were 
full of the habitations of cruelty." Never, in any nation, 
was human sacrifice carried to so frightful an extent as 

83 



84 ABOUT MEXICO. 

amons: these refined and cultured Indian tribes. The 
practice had been common among the Aztecs from the 
earliest times, and gave to the whole race a fierce and 
gloomy character which made them hated by all their 
neighbors. The position which they gained as head of 
the three confederate tribes afforded them an opportunity 
to engraft this hideous custom on the milder worship of 
the people around the lake. For about one hundred 
years, or during the time of this supremacy, human 
sacrifices and the sacrificial eating of human flesh pre- 
vailed throughout Mexico as never before. About the 
time of the Spanish conquest the burden of such a re- 
ligion became intolerable, and Mexico seemed as ripe for 
destruction as was old Sodom or the Canaanites when 
their cup of iniquity was full. From Yucatan, on the 
far south-east, to the most distant of the JSahua tribes, 
on the north, the altars reeked with human blood. The 
practice was so universal, and so many victims were at 
last demanded, that death in this terrible form must 
have stared every one in the face. A large tribe on the 
Pacific slope was so nearly exterminated in one of the 
wars begun and carried on to obtain captives for sacrifice 
that men were not left to till the ground or work the 
mines ; all who had not been slain outright in defending 
their homes were borne away to die on Aztec altars. A 
colony was sent over from Mexico city to take possession 
of the empty houses and unharvested fields, while the . 
proud cities enthroned on the shore of the lake sought 
for other communities to lay waste. If silent walls 
could speak, many a beautiful city among the scores 
now in mournful ruin throughout Mexico could tell 
of scenes of carnage when, in the name of the gods 
they all worshiped, the foe came down upon them in 




-r«** 









AZTEC GODDESS OF DEATH. 



86 ABOUT MEXICO. 

fierce attack and swept away the inhabitants as with a 
besom of destruction. 

In these days of unbelief there are some who doubt 
the accounts given by both Spanish and native historians 
of human beings kept to fatten like cattle in a stall, of 
still-palpitating bodies thrown from the high altar down 
to the captor and his friends, who stood waiting to re- 
ceive this horrible provision for a decorous feast to be 
eaten as sacred food at the command of the gods. But 
these writers, though differing from each other in many 
things, agree in their testimony concerning this. Cortez, 
who is apt to be more moderate in his statements than 
his followers, says of one of the Nahua tribes in his 
letters to the king, " These people eat human flesh — a 
fact so notorious that I have not taken the trouble to 
send Your Majesty any proof of it." During the siege 
of Mexico the Tlascalan allies of Cortez subsisted large- 
ly on the bodies of the slain, and Montezuma himself 
was reproved by his Spanish visitors for this horrible 
practice. 

One of the descendants of Hungry Fox, the great 
Tezcucan chief, wrote in Spanish an interesting history 
of his people. In this he says that his great ancestor 
became disgusted with the sacrifices and cannibal feasts 
in which they engaged during their connection with the 
Aztecs, and that before their confederacy was broken up 
he made an effort to put a stop to all such practices and 
to return to the milder rites of their star-worshiping 
ancestors. But his voice was raised in vain ; the old 
priests shook their matted locks and protested against 
his innovations. They pointed to Tenochtitlan, across 
the lake, as an instance of the glory and success to be 
won by the faithful votaries of the war-god. To give 



THE HABITATIONS OF CRUELTY. 87 

weight to their influence, the tide of battle began to turn 
against the three confederate tribes, and Hungry Fox 
was obliged to yield to the popular clamor for human 
victims wherewith to appease the anger of Humming- 
Bird, the insatiable war-god. 

Every month in the year had its bloody festivals. 
At one of these the handsomest and bravest of all the 
captives was for one year named Tezcaltipoca, after one 
of the principal gods, and was obliged to illustrate by 
his life and death the vanity of all earthly things. For 
one year he was dressed in the most elegant and costly 
robes, housed in the most luxurious dwelling the city 
afforded, married to four beautiful girls and regaled with 
flowers, music and sweet odors ; his table was loaded 
with dainties and his couch was royal in its comfort and 
decoration. At the end of that time he was carried away 
from his splendid home and gay attendants, stripped of 
his raiment and led with solemn burial-chants to a little 
temple outside the city to die on the altar. As the fatal 
knife descended the old priest called on the gazing crowd 
to note this scene as the end of his sermon on life. Three 
times a year, Tlaloc, god of storms, demanded a human 
sacrifice. His home was in the fiery crater of Popocate- 
petl. In March, when the people prayed that the clouds 
which overhung his throne might pour out an abundance 
of rain on the ever-thirsty earth, little children were of- 
fered. Three times each year women were sacrificed. 
Once, in its closing days, when Talconian, mother of all 
gods, held high festival, a female prisoner suffered. She 
was obliged to dance until the last moment, then was 
beheaded and skinned and had her body thrown at the 
feet of the war-god. At one time two perfect victims 
were called for at once — one for the war-god, the other 



88 ABOUT MEXICO. 

for Tezcaltipoca. At the thne corresponding with our 
month of October, during a feast called " the Coming of 
the Gods," the priests scattered cornmeal on the floor in 
the place where the gods were expected to enter, hoping 
to find the sacred footprints of this chief deity. They 
were not likely to be disappointed for want of contriv- 
ance on the part of these " medicine-men." * 

How far the priests were able to deceive themselves is 
shown by their long and severe penances. They fasted 
sometimes to the verge of starvation. They pierced them- 
selves with thorns, bled their ears and cut holes in their 
tongues, through which sticks were thrust. It must have 
been difficult for a priest thus maimed to speak intelligibly. 
In times of great calamity an Aztec chief and a number 
of his followers are said to have offered their lives as a 
voluntary sacrifice on the altar of their country. Priests 
have been known to retire to the Avilderness for a year's 
mortification of the flesh. Building a small hut, the 
devotee lived there alone, without light or fire and with 
scarcely enough of uncooked maize to keep himself alive. 
~No man could go through this " great fast " more than 
once in a lifetime. 

The manner of the victims' death afforded scope for 
variety. They were often dressed in fancy costumes and 
made to dance in character. Sometimes, like gladiators, 
they fought for their lives on a large stone platform in 
the great square of the city. The goddess of harvests 

* On the island of Cozumel, one of the sacred places visited by- 
thousands of pilgrims from Mexico, the Spaniards found a huge 
image standing close against an inner wall of the temple. Behind 
this was a private door belonging to the priests, which opened 
through this wall into the back of the idol, whereby a priest en- 
tered and from his safe hiding-place answered the prayers of the 
people in an audible voice. 



THE HABITATIONS OF CRUELTY. 89 

was propitiated by a human victim ground between mill- 
stones like the corn the deity was asked to bestow. 

Every expedition in time of war, every trading-party 
which set out on its travels, the election of a head- chief, 
the inauguration of a new one or the dedication of a tem- 
ple was marked by extraordinary sacrifices. When the 
great teocallis in Mexico was dedicated, in 1486, forty 
thousand persons are said to have been sacrificed to the 
terrible war-god. We would believe this to be an ex- 
aggeration but for the fact that the skulls were pre- 
served in houses called zompantli, or "skull-place." 
One Spaniard, who was curious enough to count these 
ghastly relics arranged in order, gives the number as 
one hundred and thirty-six thousand. 

Among the pretexts by which the victims were per- 
suaded to yield up their lives was one common among 
Romanists when a young woman enters a convent. She 
goes to become the bride of Christ ; so the Aztec girls 
were given to the gods. A story is told of one poor 
w r oinan who was so determined to forego this honor that 
she fought for life. In her case it seemed that self-sur- 
render was necessary to make the sacrifice acceptable, and 
after struggling with her for a while they let her go. 

The most solemn of all festivals was that of " year- 
binding," as it was called, which marked the close of the 
cycle of fifty -two years. The people were taught that in 
the course of ages the world was to be four times de- 
stroyed and renewed, and that each of these events was 
to be looked for at these semi-centennial periods. As 
the time drew near they gave themselves up to gloom 
and despair. They did penances for past sins, and then 
faithlessly threw away their idols altogether, broke up 
their furniture, rent their clothes, neglected field and 



90 ABOUT MEXICO. 

mine, workshop and garden, and ended by a fast of 
thirteen days. The holy fire which had been kindled 
fifty-two years before on the temple-roofs was now suf- 
fered to die out, and the people sat down in a darkness 
of soul over which pitying angels must have wept. As 
the old year died the priests marched in solemn proces- 
sion to a lofty hill a few miles outside the city, bearing 
with them the fairest of victims- — some noble young 
chieftain taken in battle and reserved until this fateful 
day to be offered in sacrifice. He was stretched across 
the altar with his face upturned to the sky, while the 
shaggy-haired priests stood about him chanting their 
wild temple-hymns. Would the gods accept the sacri- 
fice, or would the spirits of evil prevail? Unseen by 
mortal eyes, the air was full of them. From the poorest 
hut by the lake-side to the most lordly pueblo in the land, 
men were waiting in breathless silence for an answer. 
Mothers covered the faces of their little ones lest malig- 
nant deities engaged in the battle supposed to be going on 
in the air should swoop down and carry them away. The 
devoted father cut his ears till the blood flowed, hoping 
thus to avert all evil from his family. All eyes gazed 
aloft till the Pleiades, slowly gliding through the heav- 
ens, should pass the zenith. The suspense grew awful. 
Would Tlaloc, god of storms, rise in his fury from his 
throne on yonder volcano and sweep the valley with a 
whirlwind ? Would their queenly cities go down in the 
salt floods of Tezcuco, or would an earthquake prelude 
the mighty catastrophe which would ruin a guilty world? 
Slowly the moments pass. The stars go by overhead, and 
then, at a signal from priestly hands, a shout rends the 
air. The Seven Stars have crossed the dreaded line : the 
world is safe for another fifty years. The sacred fire is 



THE HABITATIONS OF CRUELTY. 91 

now kindled anew in the bleeding breast of the victim 
on the altar, and fleet runners carry it to temples, cities 
and hamlets far and wide. The people give themselves 
up to fourteen days of feasting and merriment. They 
refurnish their houses, spin and weave, and plant their 
fields. Life flows on as of old. But, in its best estate, 
all Mexico sat in darkness. Some there were, no doubt, 
who felt after God, sitting in humble silence at his feet, 
or as good stewards dispensed his bounty to others. To 
such his love and fatherly pity must have been revealed, 
since " in every nation he that feareth him and worketh 
righteousness is accepted of him." But no song of joy- 
ful trust has floated down to us out of the dense dark- 
ness that covered the land. There was many a cry like 
that of Solomon — " Vanity of vanities " — many a prayer 
for mercy, but none had reached the firm foundation 
where the triumphant Psalmist stood when he sang, 
" God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in 
trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be 
removed, and though the mountains be carried into the 
midst of the sea ; though the waters thereof roar and be 
troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling 
thereof." 



CHAPTEE VIII. 

CIV I LIZA TION OF MEXICO. 

WHILE the MexicaDS built temples to the sun and 
the moon like those in which their ancestors wor- 
shiped in Asia and retained many of the religious forms 
which prevailed there, they forgot many other things which 
had been known in the Old World from the earliest ages. 
In the book of Job iron is spoken of as taken out of 
the earth; in Mexico mountains of iron-ore are found, 
but no use was made of it until Europeans showed the 
people what to do with this most valuable of metals. 

Antediluvians like Jabal, "the father of all such as 
dwell in tents and such as have cattle," and old Tubal 
Cain, who "worked in brass and iron," would have 
looked upon the Mexicans as far behind the times in 
which they lived. The farmers of ancient Syria, such 
as Gideon and Oman the Jebusite, taught oxen to tread 
out the grain on their threshing-floors; the Mexicans had 
never heard of such a thing. Of all the vast herds of 
cattle which roamed their uplands, not one had ever been 
tamed. There was not a beast of burden in all Mexico, 
neither had the people any idea that the milk of cows 
and of goats was good for human food. 

The horse was unknown by the Mexicans until they 
saw those brought from Cuba by Cortez for the use of 
his cavalry. For a long time the Indians looked upon 

92 



CIVILIZATION OF MEXICO. 93 

horse and man as one animal, and supposed them to be 
supernatural beings. At one time, in an encounter with 
these people, a Cuban horse was left wounded on the 
field. The villagers near by, finding him in this con- 
dition, were full of sympathy for the poor beast. They 
brought him their finest flowers and their fatted poultry 
to tempt his appetite, but all in vain. He was only a 
horse, and he starved to death on fare which would have 
satisfied some of the best-worshiped idols in all Mexico. 
Some months afterward, when the Spaniards came that 
way again, they found the skeleton neatly polished and 
set up in the village temple as a new god. The spirited 
mustangs for which the country is now so famous all date 
from the conquest. Before that time important news was 
brought to the capital by fleet-footed runners. By means 
of relays at short intervals these men could bring de- 
spatches from the coast, two hundred and fifty miles dis- 
tant, in twenty-four hours ; this seems almost incredible 
when we remember the lofty mountains to be crossed on 
the way. The Aztecs boasted that fish which only the 
day before had been swimming in the Gulf were often 
brought to Montezuma's table. 

An Indian road in those days had but one virtue : it 
was as nearly straight as it could be made, never turn- 
ing to the right hand or to the left for rugged mountain 
or for precipitous ravine. A chasm was sometimes filled 
up with stones or bridged with a log, but otherwise there 
was only a footpath wide enough for one man. Ordinary 
travelers kept up a steady trot all day, even when carry- 
ing burdens — a habit still common among the Mexican 
Indians. Many footpaths used in these days were trav- 
eled by Montezuma's carriers, and some are now worn in 
deep ruts by the feet of many generations. 



94 ABOUT MEXICO. 

As it was considered beneath the dignity of the great 
chiefs to walk, they were carried in litters on the shoul- 
ders of porters. When they alighted, they were supported 
under each arm, and were led about like children when 
first attempting to walk. The tribe of Zapotecs, in the 
South, had a high priest who never walked at all, his feet 
being too sacred to touch the ground. The people bowed 
with their faces to the earth when he passed, and no one 
of the vulgar crowd ever saw him except in his litter. 

The immense stones used in building temples in Mex- 
ico were hewn in some distant quarry and dragged by 
long files of men, with ropes, over wooden rollers, to 
their destination. They were hoisted to their places in 
lofty walls by some such simple but effective contrivances 
as were in use when the oldest cities of the world were 
built, 

Men were also employed as carriers of merchandise in 
the trading expeditions from tribe to tribe. Companies 
of merchants were fitted out by the tribe not only with 
goods for sale or for exchange, but regularly prepared for 
battle in case of attack. Their journey was always a 
dangerous one. As they felt their way cautiously from 
one tribe to another they always had to cross the yaotatti, 
or debatable ground, or no man's land, by which each 
territory was surrounded. An experienced and honor- 
able chief always led the party, which, when the por- 
ters were included, often formed a small army. Many 
a battle was occasioned by the visit of such an armed 
force, some of whom might always be suspected as spies. 
The return of such an expedition was an occasion for 
great public rejoicing, especially if it had come back suc- 
cessful. It was met by gay processions, and came march- 
ing home with flying colors, under arches of flowers 



CIVILIZATION OF MEXICO. 



95 



and greenery and pelted with bouquets. The traders 
went first to the central temple to lay an offering of 
their best before the idol. From thence they went to 
the great teepan, or council-house, to meet the chiefs who 




TRADERS ON THE CANAL (MODERN ). 

had sent them out, and feast Avith them as honored guests 
and in token of fraternity. After these ceremonies they 
went each man to his own dwelling. 

A Mexican home was unlike any known in Christian 
lands. In comparison with the clan to which a man be- 
longed, the wife and the children held a low place. The 



96 ABOUT MEXICO. 

whole community had a claim upon him in his day of 
triumph and home-coming. The council of his kindred 
had named him at birth, educated him, trained him for 
war, chosen him a wife and married him to her, and they 
would bury him when he died ; and it was easy to see that 
duty to them came before all other duties. The habit of 
giving descriptive titles was shown in the name applied 
to the merchant. He was called " the man who exchanges 
one thing for another," or " the man who gets more than 
he gives." 

Most of the commerce of the country was carried on 
in the way of barter. The artisan brought his own wares 
to the town market-place and exchanged them for what- 
ever he wanted of his neighbor's goods of equal value. 
The money was cacao-beans, put up in small bags or 
lots of eight thousand. Expensive articles were paid 
for in grains of gold, which was passed from hand to 
hand in quills. Sometimes pieces of cotton cloth were 
used, or bits of copper instead of coin. 

The market-place was a great open square surrounded 
by wide corridors, where venders sat with their goods 
protected from the weather. Cortez thus describes the 
market-place in the City of Mexico as he saw it in 
1519: 

"This city has many public squares, in which are sit- 
uated the markets and other places for buying and selling. 
There is one square, twice as large as that of the city of 
Salamanca, surrounded by porticoes, where are daily as- 
sembled more than sixty thousand souls engaged in buy- 
ing and selling, and w T here are found all kinds of mer- 
chandise that the world affords, embracing the necessaries 
of life — as, for instance, articles of food as well as jewels 
of gold and silver, lead, brass, copper, tin, precious stones, 



CIVILIZATION OF MEXICO. 



97 



bones, shells, snails and feathers. There are also exposed 
for sale wrought and unwrought stone, bricks burnt and 
unburnt, timber hewn 
and unhewn of various 
sorts. 

" There is a street for 
game, where every va- 
riety of birds found in 
the country are sold, as 
fowls, partridges, quails, 
wild ducks, flycatchers, 
widgeons, turtle-doves, 
pigeons, reed-birds, par- 
rots, sparrows, eagles, 
hawks, owls and kes- 
trels; they sell, likewise, 
the skins of some birds H 
of prey, with their feath- 
ers, head, beak and 
claws. There are also 
sold rabbits, hares, deer ■ 
and little dogs, which 
are raised for eating. 

" There is also an 
herb street, where may 
be obtained all sorts 
of roots and medicinal 
herbs that the country 
affords. There are 
apothecaries' shops 
where prepared medi- 
cines, liquids, ointments 
and plasters are sold; 

7 




THE SPLENDID TROGON OF MEXICO. 



98 ABOUT MEXICO. 

barbers' shops, where they wash aud shave the head ; and 
restaurateurs, that furnish food and drink at a certain 
price. There is also a class of men like those called in 
Castile porters, for carrying burdens. Wood and coals 
are seen in abundance, and braziers of earthenware for 
burning coals ; mats of various kinds for beds, others of 
a lighter sort for seats, and for halls and bedrooms. 

"There are all kinds of green vegetables, especially 
onions, leeks, garlic, watercresses, nasturtium, borage, 
sorel, artichokes and golden thistle; fruits, also, of 
numerous descriptions, amongst which are cherries and 
plums similar to those in Spain ; honey and wax from 
bees and from the stalks of maize, which are as sweet as 
the sugar-cane. Honey is also extracted from the plant 
called maguey which is superior to sweet or new wine; 
from the same plant they extract sugar and wine, which 
they also sell. Different kinds of cotton thread, of all 
colors, in skeins, are exposed for sale in one quarter of 
the market, which has the appearance of the silk-market 
at Granada, although the former is supplied more abun- 
dantly. Painters' colors as numerous as can be found in 
Spain, and as fine shades; deerskins, dressed and un- 
dressed, dyed different colors ; earthenware of a large 
size and excellent quality ; large and small jars, jugs, pots, 
bricks and an endless variety of vessels, all made of fine 
clay, and all, or most of them, glazed and painted; maize, 
or Indian corn, in the grain and in the form of bread — 
preferred in the grain for its flavor to that of the other 
islands and terra firma ; patis of birds and fish ; great 
quantities of fish, fresh, salt, cooked and uncooked ; the 
eggs of hens, geese, and of all the other birds I have men- 
tioned, in great abundance, and cakes made of eggs. Fi- 
nally, everything that can be found throughout the whole 



CIVILIZATION OF MEXICO. 99 

country is sold in the markets, comprising articles so 
numerous that to avoid prolixity, and because their 
names are not retained in my memory or are unknown 
to me, I shall not attempt to enumerate them. Each 
kind of merchandise is sold in a particular street or 
quarter, assigned to it exclusively, and thus the best 
order is preserved. 

"They sell everything by number or measure — at 
least, so far, we have not observed them to sell anything 
by weight. There is a building in the great square that 
is used as an audience-house, where ten or twelve per- 
sons, who are magistrates, sit and decide all controversies 
that arise in the market and order delinquents to be pun- 
ished. In the same square there are other persons, who 
go constantly about among the people, observing what is 
sold and the measures used in selling, and they have been 
seen to break measures that were not true." 

The Mexicans appear to have been a very cleanly peo- 
ple. Abundant provision was made in the cities for 
bathing. Great basins cut in stone, with steps leading 
down to the water, are still found. In many places 
there were underground reservoirs for rain-water. 

Fountains and waterfalls were included in their land- 
scape-gardening — an art that seems to have reached a 
perfection which European gardeners of that age could 
not exceed. Cortez describes "a garden near Mex- 
ico which was the largest, most beautiful and refreshing 
that I ever beheld. It is two leagues in circuit, and 
through the middle of it flows a fine stream of water. 
At intervals of about two bow-shots are houses, with 
beds of flowers, together with a profusion of herbs and 
odoriferous plants." The botanical gardens contained 
specimens of every plant to be found in that end of the 



100 ABO UT MEXICO. 

continent. The floating gardens of Mexico, so often 
described , were light rafts of woven reeds on which turf 
was heaped. Through the matted vegetable growth thus 
produced willow stakes were driven, fastening all togeth- 
er, and in time the roots of plants reached down through 
the soil into the shallow water of the lake. Such gar- 
dens, linked together on the borders of the city, extend- 
ed its boundaries far beyond its original limits. The 
terraced roofs of the houses were also airy gardens 
abloom with flowering plants, and even with small 
shrubbery. The whole city seemed devoted to floricul- 
ture. Out of this wilderness of beautv arose hundreds 
of towers, with many open squares surrounded with 
well-paved corridors and handsome public buildings. 

As every male among the Aztecs was born a warrior, 
and as the army was almost constantly in the field, the 
house-building of this nation of banditti was mostly 
done by levies on subjugated tribes. They put up houses 
without a nail or a hammer. Hungry Fox, chief of the 
Tezcucans, employed a force of two hundred thousand 
men in building and furnishing a government house. 
The same great chief had in the centre of a magnificent 
park a country-house which, judging from its ruins 
still remaining, must well have compared with some of 
the finest royal residences in Europe. Enough can still 
be found to prove that art has sadly degenerated in Mex- 
ico since Aztec rule declined. With the despotic power 
of the tribal council, the greatest tyranny of custom pre- 
vailed throughout Mexico. Every act of civil and of 
common life was regulated for the people so rigorously 
that " the course of improvement," says one writer, 
"was chained as completely as in China or Hindo- 
stan. " 



CIVILIZATION OF MEXICO. 101 

The manners of the people showed great attention to 
all the proprieties of life. The Aztecs always saluted by 
touching the hand to the ground and then raising it to 
the head. When they appeared in the presence of the 
great chiefs, it was common to wear a coarse mantle over 
their rich garments, in token of respect to superiors in 
rank. The dignity and the decorum of an Indian coun- 
cil are proverbial among us, and the Mexican teepan was 
a model of tedious etiquette. Cortez says, " No sultan 
or infidel lord now known had so much ceremonial in 
their courts as did Montezuma." A censer with sweet 
incense thrown on the burning coals was swung before 
the honored guest by an Aztec host, that the very air 
might breathe its welcome to him. Hands were care- 
fully washed and dried before and after meals, and the 
whole person was bathed every day. There were no 
tables or knives or forks, but finger-bowls and cotton 
napkins were commonly used, and dainty pottery. It 
is said that in the higher circles meats were kept 
hot on chafing-dishes, the guests being seated on clean 
rush mats placed on the floor ; chocolate was served in 
cups of gold, silver or tortoise-shell, and an after-dinner 
pipe was as common there as here. The Aztecs became 
skillful cooks as the tribe increased in wealth, though 
the poor could never forget the day when, hunted into 
the swamps, their ancestors were often obliged to fall 
back on the glutinous scum of the lake as a substitute 
for more palatable food. 

In dress as in architecture these people had advanced 
far beyond the more northern Indians. The costume of 
the citizen was a large square mantle (tilmantli), worn 
throughout Mexico ; two ends of this were brought to- 
gether and knotted under the chin. This flowing dra- 



102 ABOUT MEXICO, 

pery was often fringed or tasseled and sprinkled with 
gems according to the taste and wealth of the wearer. 
The colors were rich and varied, generally dyed before 
the cloth was woven, and often skillfully embroidered in 
fanciful designs on a plain ground. Additional mantles 
of feather-work and fur were common, and quilted cot- 
ton tunics. With sash, long and ample, tied about the 
loins, collars, bracelets and anklets of gold-embroidered 
leather richly adorned with precious stones, and gaudy 
pendants from ears, under-lips, and sometimes the nos- 
trils, we have a picture of the Indian brave of Mexico 
which would quite rouse the envy of his less-cultivated 
red brother of our own Western frontier. The chiefs, 
as we have seen elsewhere, had other finery, belonging 
to them exclusively. The festival array of an Aztec 
was sometimes a beast mask or in skins flayed from 
human victims, in which young men dressed themselves 
to dance. Priests wore the robe of the god whose day 
they celebrated; the warrior, the colors of his clan. The 
women wore several skirts of different lengths, one over 
the other, so that the bottom of each skirt might be seen, 
while over all these were loose flowing tunics. These gar- 
ments were often richly tinted and embroidered in taste- 
ful figures. Stripes and plaids were common. A fine 
soft cloth woven of rabbits' hair and dyed in various 
colors was also used. Decorations of feathers, gems, 
pearls, little figures and trinkets of gold added great 
beauty to these costumes. The Aztec women walked 
the streets unveiled, though those of some of the other 
tribes wore a covering on the head. Their eyes were 
dark and their hair was long, black and thick, flow- 
ing about the shoulders. Their faces had the passive, 
even sad, look which marks their race. 



CIVILIZATION OF MEXICO. 103 

No product of Mexican patience and skill was more 
justly admired than were the exquisite feather-mosaics. 
The artist sometimes spent a whole day selecting one tiny 
feather aud gumming it in its place on a warrior's cloak 
or shield. The rainbow sheen of the breast and the throat 
of the humming-bird was most eagerly sought for this 
work ; it was almost as costly as though the glittering 
patterns were wrought in the gems it so perfectly imi- 
tated. The little bird whose plumage had been stolen 
was itself reproduced in the design, or fishes with gleam- 
ing scales or flowers of radiant colors shone out as though 
they were real, and not mere copies from nature. Birds, 
fishes and all other known animals were also imitated 
exactly in gold and silver, each hair and scale being 
most carefully wrought in the metal. This art, they 
claimed, was taught by Feathered Serpent, their hero- 
god. The same forms were cut in gems and worn as 
jewelry. One emerald thus carved was crushed with 
holy horror by a Spanish priest when he found that it 
had been worshiped as a god. 

When the life of the Aztec reached its close and prep- 
aration was made for the funeral rites, the darkness with 
regard to the coming state in which the tribe walked be- 
came manifest. After the survivors had mourned all day 
in silence over their dead, seeking by tender entreaty and 
oifers of food to win back the departed spirit, they filled 
the night with despairing shrieks and moans. They then 
made preparations for cremation. All the possessions of 
the dead man were brought together and burned with him. 
When a head-chief died, his body lay in state for a cer- 
tain time dressed in the garb of his patron god. But a 
long and dreary journey lay between him and those re- 
gions of bliss promised to the great warriors of the tribe. 



104 ABOUT MEXICO. 

Wood and water were put beside him; a costly mask 
covered his face, and a green stone cut in the shape of a 
heart was placed between the cold, mute lips. A little 
dog was provided, to guide his master through the perils 
of the way, and plenty of paper passes were furnished for 
the time of need. The priests spoke of a wonderful place 
where mountains strike together, the road being guarded 
by " the great snake and great alligator, the eight deserts 
and eight hills." In earlier days a crowd of wives and 
servants stood by. The priests exhorted them to be 
faithful in the next world to their departed master, 
after which they were killed, and burned also with 
his ashes. At the funeral of Nezhualpilli, the son of 
Hungry Fox (a. d. 1515), just before the Spaniards 
came, it is said that two hundred male and one hundred 
female attendants thus suffered. With the bodies were 
burned, in a vast funeral pyre, quantities of rich stuffs, 
jewels, weapons, ornaments and costly incense — every- 
thing, in fact, needed to keep up the dead man's state in 
the next life. So far as possible, the other classes aped 
this horrible fashion. Some made wooden statues of 
their friends, with hollow places in the necks, in which 
their ashes were put. These were kept as family idols. 



CHAPTER IX. 

AMONG THE BOOKS. 

THE uncivilized man pictures the event he wishes to 
record. If he is describing a battle, he draws 
something which suggests war — his arrows, his toma- 
hawk or the scalp of his foe. Water is often expressed 
by a waved line ; a month, by the figure of the moon ; a 
day, by that of the sun. In such rude pictures origi- 
nated the old Hebrew alphabet in which Moses wrote, as 
is shown by the names of the letters. Thus, aleph means 
"an ox;" beth, "a ■■house;" gimel, "a camel;" and daleth, 
"a door." Through ages of use the lines of these pict- 
ures were changed and simplified, until they became 
merely letters in which the original design could scarcely 
be traced. 

An advance in civilization is shown by an effort to ex- 
press abstract ideas by signs. Among the ancient Egyp- 
tians an ostrich-feather was chosen to represent the idea 
of truth. They went still farther, and used signs to rep- 
resent sounds as our letters do. Thus the figure of a 
hawk meant the sound a, etc. In the next step in writ- 
ten language both pictures and symbols are dropped, and 
signs are used only to represent the sounds of spoken lan- 
guage — characters which can be combined to make sylla- 
bles and words. This is phonetic writing. If a man can 
write one word in this way, he can go on and write a 
hundred words, or five hundred if he has learned to use 

105 



106 ABOUT MEXICO. 

five hundred words in conversation. Such a person is 
no longer a savage : he has become a partially-civilized 
man. 

Every letter used in the composition of this book has 
such a history of civilization as this. Tracing it to its 
fountain-head, we find ourselves on the banks of the 
Nile, among the pyramids of old Egypt, where men 
made their first rude attempts to write language. " In 
every letter we trace," says Max Muller^ " lies embedded 
the mummy of an ancient Egyptian hieroglyph," or 
symbol. The Phoenicians, who were the travelers and 
the wide-awake people of their day, visited Egypt and 
there learned the use of letters. What the Phoenicians 
knew, they taught to the Greeks, who in their turn be- 
came the teachers of all Europe. They began to write 
language about B. c. 600. It was from these people that 
the Romans — whose alphabet we use — got their first idea 
of a written language. The very name they gave their 
letters tells the story. It is alpha beta, the first two let- 
ters of the series used by the Greeks. The written lan- 
guages of the New World have no part in this history of 
our alphabet, as the characters used by the American 
tribes are of their own invention. It is very doubt- 
ful whether until this century any of them ever got 
much beyond picture-writing. 

About the year 1821, Se-quoy-ah, a Cherokee Indian, 
heard a white man who was visiting his tribe read a let- 
ter. Those who have all their lives been accustomed to 
seeing people read have no idea of the effect produced on 
this untutored child of the forest when he discovered that 
the curious little black marks on paper had conveyed 
ideas to the mind of his visitor, and that there were other 
white men who would find the same meaning in them. 



AMONG THE BOOKS. 107 

He began to think and to ask questions about this strange 
fact, and slowly he grasped the idea of making characters 
which would represent the different sounds of the human 
voice. After months of study he found that eighty-five 
distinct sounds, or syllables, were used in Cherokee con- 
versation, and that all the words with which he was 
familiar were combinations of these. He contrived 
eighty-five signs, or characters, which represented these 
sounds. This done, it was easy to put them together to 
make words ; and the Cherokees had a written language 
so simple that under the guidance of Se-quoy-ah these 
Indians have gone beyond their white brethren, and in 
their system of phonetics have got rid of a world of 
rubbish, in the shape of useless or silent letters, with 
which our written words are encumbered. 

Some have claimed that the Mayas of Yucatan— a 
people supposed to have descended from the builders of 
the magnificent cities now in ruins there — once had such 
a phonetic alphabet, but this cannot be proved until a 
key has been found to the records carved on their mon- 
uments. So far, these are still an enigma to the curious 
student. The Toltecs, Tezcucans, Aztecs, and other 
Nahua tribes, had a few symbols representing ideas, but 
most of the numberless manuscripts found at the time of 
the conquest were in picture-writing. It is not proved 
that they had the art of writing sounds, although they 
seemed to be rapidly working toward it. 

The Aztecs were very skillful in representing the 
forms of birds, animals and fishes in gold and silver; 
but the same objects, when used in picture-writing, were 
strangely distorted. They made no difference in size 
between men, women and children, but indicated differ- 
ence of age by dots near the head of the figure repre- 



108 ABOUT MEXICO. 

sented. Their human beings were always big-headed, 
long-footed, with faces in profile, immense noses and a 
front view of one staring eye. The work was otherwise 
well done, with clear strokes and fadeless coloring. The 
priests were the great picture-writers and historians of 
the tribe. Their law-records were said to have been so 
accurate that the Spanish government always took them 
in evidence when Indian testimony was required. There 
were several different styles of penmanship, no one of 
which is now understood by any living person. In less 
than one hundred years after the conquest there were but 
two persons who could read the manuscripts which es- 
caped the general wreck. Both of these men were very 
old, and neither was a skilled interpreter. 

The Romish priests became very much interested in 
Mexican picture-writing. When it was decided that the 
Indians could be trusted with their old art, the monks 
began to encourage them in it, and even to study it 
themselves in order to communicate the truths of the 
gospel to these poor people in the way most familiar to 
them. In some cases they were successful. Many a 
native who had gone faithfully through his prayers in 
an unknown tongue now began for the first time to un- 
derstand them. The Aztecs were a deeply religious peo- 
ple — as, indeed, were all the Mexican tribes — and when 
they came to unburden their hearts to the priests in the 
confessional, they could in no way express themselves so 
well as by their old pictures. Many learned the art in 
order to relate their religious experience, and thousands 
of new manuscripts were written, some of which remain 
to perplex the antiquarian. A monk who understood 
picture-writing says he was literally overwhelmed by 
these Indian confessions on long strips of muslin. 



AMONG THE BOOKS. 109 

Even those natives who had been taught the use of the 
Roman alphabet would return to their old art whenever 
they could. 

Back of these monkish documents are writings which 
no one can understand. Not long after the conquest 
one of these was sent to Charles V. by Mendoza, the 
first viceroy of New Spain. It is called the Mendoza 
Codex, and is a copy of some old manuscript, since it is 
done on European paper. The Spanish vessel by which 
this book was sent was captured in mid-ocean by the 
French and taken to Paris with other booty. There 
the chaplain of the English ambassador saw it, and 
bought it. It was taken by him to England and en- 
graved as one of the illustrations of Purchases Pilgrim- 
age. The original picture-book was lost for a hundred 
years, but finally was found and put in the Bodleian 
Library, where it now is. Spanish and English inter- 
pretations of the Mendoza Codex have been published, 
but are not to be relied on. 

An entirely different style of picture-writing is seen in 
what is called the Dresden Codex. This manuscript was 
first heard of in 1739; it is an original, painted in fine, 
delicate characters on agave-paper. There is no clue to 
the origin or the interpretation of this beautiful manu- 
script, though some of the figures and the characters are 
like those carved on the stones of Palenque, and may 
possibly illustrate manners and customs of Southern 
Mexico in vogue several hundred years ago. 

About the time it was deemed necessary to invent an 
Indian Virgin Mary for these poor people, Boturini, 
one of their warmest friends, devoted himself to a long 
and patient search among them for relics and manu- 
scripts, hoping to find something which would help the 



110 ABOUT MEXICO. 

monks in this pious effort. He lived in their cabins, be- 
came familiar with the various dialects and gained the 
confidence of the people, and thus obtained a knowledge 
of their history and traditions better than that of any 
other European. After making a great collection of 
maps and manuscripts, he started with his treasure for 
Spain. But the authorities took alarm at these signs of 
sympathy with the Indians. Boturini was arrested be- 
fore he could get out of Mexico; all his papers were* 
taken from him and stored in a damp room in the vice- 
roy's palace. Some of them were stolen, some became 
so mouldy that they fell to pieces ; and in time the col- 
lection which had cost so much time and labor was en- 
tirely lost. 

Sahagan, a Franciscan monk, wrote a long history of 
the people among whom he labored, but it was deemed a 
dangerous enterprise tending to perpetuate the heathen- 
ism which was still wrought into the warp and woof of 
Mexican Christianity. Sahagan dared not publish his 
book, and for nearly three hundred years it was as much 
lost to the public as was one of the picture-writings of 
w T hich he spoke. 

The world lost the best history of Mexico ever writ- 
ten when the bigot Zurramaga emptied the great library 
of Tezcuco into the town market-place and burned it 
there; the smoke he raised seemed ever after to linger 
cloudlike over the vanquished race. What remained 
of their early records was hidden away, like their lost 
cities, until their very memory perished, and none were 
left to read the mouldy fragments which here and there 
have come to light. 

The Aztec manuscripts were folded in a curious zigzag 
manner, something like a fan, and stiffened at each end 



AMONG THE BOOKS. Ill 

by two pieces of light wood. For paper, agave-leaves 
were used, and sometimes a piece of white cotton cloth 
or a neatly-dressed deerskin. Strips of these, one or 
two feet broad and from twenty to thirty feet long, 
were neatly joined together. The folds in these were 
the pages, and the boards at each end were the cover, 
of the book. 

The Aztec language was copious and polished, and 
the orators of the tribe were very eloquent in the use 
of it. The words were often long, some of them having 
fifteen syllables. Besides this language, there were many 
others spoken ; some have counted thirty-five dialects at 
the time of the conquest. Tradition says that the poet- 
chieftain Hungry Fox was the author of sixty hymns to 
the true God, only a very few of which, however, have 
come down to our time. Be this as it may, it is not 
likely that any of these compositions were written until 
the Roman alphabet came into use among his people, but 
were preserved in the memories of his followers. 

In writing figures the Aztecs expressed a small num- 
ber by circles or by units. A tiny flag represented the 
number 20 ; a feather was 400 ; a sack, 8000 ; a flag 
with two cross-lines was 10, and the same picture with 
three dots beside it stood for 24. Records of the grain 
and other products which were furnished for the use of 
large Aztec communities are still preserved. 

Nothing so well shows the high grade of civilization 
to which these Indians attained as their system for the 
measurement of time ; this, it is supposed, they inherited 
from the Toltecs. They had discovered the exact length 
of the solar or tropical year, and the necessity of leap- 
years in order to bring their time up to the seasons. 
They divided this year of three hundred and sixty-five 



112 ABOUT MEXICO, 

days and six hours into eighteen months of twenty 
days each, and these months again into four weeks of 
five days. This left an excess of five days which did 
not belong to any month. During this time it was con- 
sidered to be worse than useless to do any work, since the 
powers of evil would thwart their best endeavors un- 
hindered by the gods, who were all off duty. No 
prayers were offered to them, therefore, and those who 
had a heart to laugh when everything was in such dire 
confusion gave themselves up to amusement. The fact 

that 

"Satan finds some mischief still . 
For idle hands to do " 

must often have been emphasized in these times of gen- 
eral license, and probably furnished the reason why 
these days came to be considered particularly unlucky 
days. 

The leap-year of the Aztecs came at the close of their 
period of fifty-two years, or four cycles of thirteen years 
each, when thirteen days were added to make the time 
right with the seasons. These thirteen days were the 
solemn season of year-binding, described in a previous 
chapter. 



CHAPTER X. 

CHILD-LIFE IN MEXICO. 

j IFE from its outset must have been a serious busi- 
-^ ness with the Mexican boys and girls. They were 
taught from their cradle to endure hardship, to sleep on 
the floor on a mat, to suffer hunger and thirst, pain and 
fatigue, without complaint. Of home, in our sense of 
that word, they could have known but little, since edu- 
cation in all its branches was almost entirely in the hands 
of the government. The fathers and the mothers of 
Mexico may have had as much natural love for their 
children as parents have in our own country, but parents 
had much less opportunity to spoil their children by the 
over-indulgence which is possible here. Both boys and 
girls were taken from home at a very early age, to be 
brought up in the public schools of the tribe. 

Some of the laws of Aztec society would not be en- 
dured by the young people of our day and country. For 
instance, respect to parents was carried so far that even 
after marriage a young man dared not speak in the pres- 
ence of his father without first obtaining his permission. 
The wife and the children of a merchant who was away 
on one of those dangerous trading expeditions were not 
allowed the luxury of bathing while he was absent ; they 
could not wear their best clothes or live on anything but 
the plainest fare until he returned in safety. These sac- 
rifices were made to win for him the favor of the gods. 

8 113 



114 ABOUT MEXICO. 

In case of prolonged absence and great peril the mother 
and the children did penance by cutting themselves with 
flints. The art of doing this properly was one of the 
lessons taught in Aztec public schools. The children 
were trained to believe that the sight of blood pleased 
the cruel deities who were supposed to preside over the 
commerce of their country. 

Scarcely did a child open its eyes on this world when 
religious ceremonies for its benefit began. An astrologer 
was called in to decide whether or not it was born under a 
lucky star. This question was not raised, however, about 
the children born during the last five days of the year : 
these were always accounted as unlucky, and the little un- 
fortunate who then entered on life was dubbed from the 
outset "useless man" or "useless woman," as the case 
might be, and neither his own good sense nor the good 
management of the parents could save the youngster from 
a double share of this world's troubles. When the little 
one was two or three days old, it was carried out of 
doors by au orderly procession of its friends and laid 
on a heap of freshly-cut grass. It was then bathed 
(some would call the ceremony " baptism "), while the 
gods were invoked in its behalf, the petitioners kneeling 
on the ground with their faces to the east. At this time 
a baby-name was given to the infant, by which it was 
known in the family circle for a few months only ; then 
a priest came to give the child its second baptism and its 
proper name. It was called always after some object in 
nature. A little girl was often named after one of 
the beautiful flowers with which the whole land was 
abloom. Every name had a meaning and could easily 
be written, since it was not spelled, but pictured. It was 
after this second ceremony that a bow and arrows were 



CHILD-LIFE IN MEXICO. 115 

laid on the pillow of a baby-boy, to signify that he was 
born to be a warrior. In this same way a tiny spindle 
and distaff were given to a girl-baby, to show that her 
business in life was to spin, weave and provide for a 
family. A stone mortar and pestle were buried under 
the family grindstone, where the mother ground corn to 
ensure plenty, of food in store for her daughter, while 
the bow and arrows given to her little brother were 
in due time buried in the fields where it was expect- 
ed he would some day fight. By this ceremony it 
was supposed that he would be made successful as 
a warrior. 

A boy who lived to grow up and make a figure in the 
world was named three times. When years had passed, 
if he survived the fasts and penances by which he was 
initiated into the ranks of the priests or the warriors, or 
when, as a common soldier, he found glory on some 
bloody battlefield, he had a new name given to him, by 
which he was ever afterward known. Any remarkable 
circumstance in a man's life was apt to be commemorated 
in this way. This is a very old custom, and is often de- 
scribed in the Bible. Thus, Abram and Sarai were re- 
named Abraham and Sarah in their old age, because God 
at that time covenanted to make them the parents of a 
great nation. When Jacob struggled all night by the 
ford Jabbok, God said, "Thy name shall no more be 
called Jacob, but Israel, for as a prince hast thou power 
with God and hast prevailed." The name "Hungry 
Fox " was given in this way to the most famous of all 
the chiefs of Anahuac as a memorial of the years of dis- 
tress and privation through which he passed before he 
reached his high position. The Aztec " chief-of-men " 
had a third name, which well expressed his gloomy, 



1 16 ABOUT MEXICO. 

superstitious character. It was Montezuma, " the sad or 
severe man." 

At a certain time in the year every child which had 
reached a proper age had its ears bored. The same 
month all the boys and girls were lifted by their ears, 
four or five times, from the ground, in order to make 
them grow straight and tall. 

Home-life was always short. There was seldom any 
big brother or big sister at home to tease or to overawe 
the little ones, since all over eight years were in school, 
and were married as soon as they left school. It was not 
necessary for any family to have a large dwelling. A 
pair of rooms opening into each other and unconnected 
with the rest of the house was probably enough for most 
of them. Even the most elegant mansions found in 
Southern Mexico were arranged in this way, and ac- 
commodated scores of families. 

Before the State took the children in charge they were 
taught to work. Some old picture-writers of that day 
have given a description of the progressive steps in the 
education of children. Three small dots over the head 
of one of their human figures show that it is intended to 
represent a boy or a girl three years of age. There is a 
picture of half a corncake near these dots, to show what 
was such a child's allowance for one meal. More dots 
and a whole corncake tell us that the child has grown 
older. As years go on we see the boys beginning to carry 
burdens. One picture shows a boy of four learning to 
do easy little tasks ; he carries a willow basket to market 
for his father. A girl of the same age takes her first 
lesson in spinning. The boy of six goes out into the 
field to pick ears of corn ; a year later his father teaches 
him how to fish in the lake. He paddles about in a little 



CHILD-LIFE IN MEXICO. 117 

canoe and learns how to handle a bow and arrows. The 
girls, meanwhile, are set to grinding corn and cooking 
cakes for the family — among the chief occupations of a 
Mexican woman's life to this day. 

Since human nature is the same all the world over, we 
may be sure that even among the industrious people of 
Anahuac there were some who were lazy and selfish, but 
this, like most other family matters, was regulated by 
the government. A lad who would not work when he 
was bidden was made to stand over burning pepper until 
he was almost choked with the smoke, or he was beaten 
with a thorny stick. A youngster who would not speak 
the truth had his lip punched with a thorn. Laziness 
seems to have been counted as an unpardonable sin among 
these people. The children were kept busy on principle. 
In this respect, and in many others, these Indians differ 
widely from their red brethren who rove our prairies 
and live by the chase. Among the Nez Perce and other 
tribes of the North the boys are taught to endure bodily 
discomfort with patience, but never to work, tilling the 
fields, and even felling lumber and building the houses, 
being considered woman's Avork. Our Indians think it 
unsafe to compel a boy to obey his parents, lest his spirit 
be broken. 

The public schools of the Aztecs were called " houses 
of the youth." These buildings, which were often quite 
extensive, adjoined the temple, and were always under the 
care of the priests. They had other expressive names 
for them, such as " the place where I grow " or " the 
place where I learn." The teacher was called "the 
speaker of the youth," or was commended to his pupils 
by the pleasant name of " elder brother." The teachers 
of the girls' department were sedate old maiden-ladies 



118 ABOUT MEXICO. 

who had forsaken the world and taken up religion as a 
profession. 

Reading and writing in Mexico were not the simple 
studies which in these times are set before a child of five 
or six years. The vast majority of the people knew 
nothing of these fine arts. 

Besides the use of the brush and the pencil in picture- 
and map-drawing, history was committed to memory, 
together with national hymns, war-songs and prayers 
used in the temple-service. The studious pupil was 
taken out on the temple-roof at night to study the 
heavens with the old astrologers. They knew the 
Pleiades and other constellations, and were able to 
measure off the years by these starry timekeepers. 
Some of the little ones were sent to the temple at a 
very tender age. It is probable that on account of 
the frequent battles of that warlike tribe there were 
many orphans under the care of the government. 

The temple was also an industrial school. Every boy 
and every girl had work to do to keep its numerous 
buildings and courts in order. The great stairs and 
terraces by which the altar was reached from the out- 
side were soiled with the feet of many long processions 
going to and coming from that place of blood, or by 
the clouds of dust for which the valley is still famous 
during the long dry season. The tesselated pavements 
of shrine and hall and corridor had to be cleansed 
frequently, or they could not have compared favorably 
with the streets of the city, which, we are told, were 
swept daily by a thousand men. The priests' quarters 
were also in the temple, and, with the vast army of 
these officials (said to have numbered five thousand in 
all), there must have been work enough for all the un- 



CHILD-LIFE IN MEXICO. 119 

married girls and women in the tribe. To the girls, 
also, was given the duty of bringing water from the 
beautiful fountain in the temple-court to use in religious 
service. They also had care of the flowers which grew 
in the temple-garden, and which were always in demand 
as offerings to the idols. Nor did their duties close with 
the long bright days of the tropical year ; three times in 
the night they rose to look after the fire on the roof, 
which was never suffered to go out. The boys cut the 
wood and brought it in, and it was woman's work to put 
it in the stoves and sprinkle in the flame a fragrant gum 
much used in worship. Such of the girls as showed 
aptness were taught to embroider cotton cloth in gay 
colors and to do certain kinds of fancy-work in feath- 
ers. Besides weaving this cloth, they made it up into the 
quilted armor with which the public armory was stored. 
The boys were no less industrious. They were up at 
sunrise, and climbed to the temple-roof to hail the sun 
as he rose over the mountain-walls of the valley. Here 
the old priests stood waiting, with their solemn faces 
turned eastward, until the first red rays shot upward into 
the cloudless heavens. Then, amid joyous acclamation 
and kissing their hands to the orb of day, a hymn was 
chanted in his praise, and quails and incense were offered 
in sacrifices to him as to a god. At other times the boys 
connected with the temple were sent out on a curious 
hunting expedition into the forests which then covered 
the mountains. Accompanied by a priest who understood 
the business, they gathered spiders, small serpents, scor- 
pions, and other poisonous creatures with which the 
country abounds. These were brought back to the tem- 
ple and burned with tobacco in a very ceremonious way. 
Out of this disgusting mixture was made a sacred oint- 



120 ABOUT MEXICO. 

ment with which the priests rubbed themselves, offering 
it also to the idols in sacrifice. 

Many of a boy's occupations were such as might be 
classed among amusements. Once in their month of 
twenty days the Aztecs had a religious festival, when the 
braves of the tribe appeared in their gay costumes, each 
in the color of his clan, to engage in feats of arms. The 
boys, with their teachers, were obliged to attend this re- 
hearsal, which generally took place in the public square 
surrounding the great temple. 

Everything was regulated by government orders. The 
tenth day of February was set apart for what the Mexi- 
can boys knew as " fishing-day." It was a great holiday, 
even when the sport was so carefully regulated by the 
elders that in our free-and-easy times it would not be 
called sport at all. These Indian boys were taught to 
catch water-fowls by a very ingenious stratagem. An 
empty gourd was left floating on the water so long that 
the birds became used to the sight of it. The fowler 
then came quietly among the birds, wearing on his head 
another gourd, pierced with eyeholes, his hands being free 
to drag his hapless victims under water by their legs. 
They also snared game as our Indians do — by driving 
the wild animals they used for food into a net or pitfall, 
or by surrounding them. 

Some of the occupations of these Indian boys deserve 
the name of play. They had a ball-game like tennis, for 
which courts were built. In some of the communal 
houses still found in the southern part of Mexico the 
elegant rooms which were used for this purpose are 
found, showing the luxurious l character of the people 
who built them. They played with india-rubber balls, 
and managed to carry on the game without using their 



CHILD-LIFE IN MEXICO. 121 

hands or their feet. Whoever touched the ball with 
either hand or foot was out. 

At fifteen the boys were put into a public school of 
arms, under the care of experienced chiefs deputed by the 
councillor that business; here they were taught to han- 
dle weapons skillfully. The lads then entered the ranks 
of the warriors. Long and rapid marches were common, 
and, as the youth went fully armed or carried the arms 
of one of the warriors, he soon found that war was no 
pastime. The lads also carried the baggage of priests 
who were traveling on religious errands. Their gradu- 
ating-day came in our month of May, when the feast of 
the god Tezcaltipoca was celebrated. It was always a 
joyous occasion, in spite of the fact that on that day a 
young man, the fairest, noblest and most gifted of the 
captives, was offered in sacrifice to this god. For a whole 
year the victim had been petted and feasted ; that day all 
his fine clothes were taken from him, and his gay com- 
panions, his luxurious quarters, his music, flowers and 
games, were left behind, and, surrounded by wild-eyed 
priests, he went with a solemn procession to a bloody 
death outside the city. But it was a gala-day for the 
lads in the temple. The women prepared a feast for 
them, including a graduating-cake sweetened with honey. 
It was the great frolic of their lives. They sang and 
jested and raced in the temple-corridors. Those who 
were in the classes below them had as much fun at their 
expense as the young people of our times have on All 
Fools' day, and the young women pelted the graduates 
as they ran the gauntlet of their fellows. 

It was unlawful for an Aztec youth to remain unmar- 
ried, and his matrimonial affairs were generally settled by 
the time that temple-service and education were ended. 



122 ABOUT MEXICO. 

He had not the trouble of proposing to the young woman 
who was to be his wife ; that was the business of his clan, 
who employed one of their matrons as a go-between to 
arrange the matter for both parties. The wife was pur- 
chased, and became the property of her husband. The 
first step was to find out, not whether the young lady was 
willing, but whether the birth-stars of the young people 
agreed. If this question was settled to satisfaction, the 
marriage ceremonies went on. After a long exhortation 
from the priest the young people were united by tying 
their garments together in a strong knot ; they then 
walked seven times around the fire, casting incense into 
it. After this the pair fasted four days and did penance 
in perfect silence, sitting on the floor, and the marriage 
ceremony was complete. 

In October, when it was believed that all the gods ar- 
rived on a visit to earth, cornmeal was strewn on the 
floor outside of Tezcaltipoca's shrine, in order that his 
footsteps should be seen as he entered. On the twen- 
tieth of the month the boys, dressed to look as much 
like monsters as possible, had a dance around a great 
fire in the square. The old chiefs got drunk if they 
chose (a privilege never allowed the young men), and 
always burnt a prisoner or two before their revels were 
ended. 

With all their ferocity, there were some softer traits in 
the character of the Aztecs which relieve the picture of 
those days. Amid the universal despair which marked 
the festival of year-binding, when property went to 
wreck and the whole country seemed shrouded with 
mourning, the Aztec mother covered her baby's face 
while the priestly procession marched by her door, lest, 
if the world should be destined to survive for another 



CHILD-LIFE IN MEXICO. 123 

cycle of fifty years, her little one should live on as a 
mouse. 

The temple of the goddess Sentol, who was supposed 
to preside over the harvests, was visited in May by troops 
of little girls; who came bringing ears of corn to be 
blessed. These ears were afterward taken home and 
put in the granary, in order to sanctify all that was 
in it. 

In time of famine poor parents were taught by the 
priests that they would win special favor of the gods by 
selling their little ones for sacrifice. The price of a boy- 
baby was but a basket of corn, and a girl brought still 
less. Tlaloc, god of storms, received most of these offer- 
ings. The poor little creatures had their faces painted, 
brightly-tinted paper wings were fastened to their shoul- 
ders, and, dressed in gay clothing, they were borne along 
the streets in litters fancifully decorated with feathers and 
flowers, to be drowned in a whirlpool or exposed to birds 
of prey on the mountains. If the frightened children 
cried on the way to their death, so much the better. A 
din was kept up in the streets as they passed along, to 
drown their piteous wail. At the water's edge the priests 
received them and carried them to their doom. For their 
comfort the weeping mothers were told that the souls of 
children thus devoted to Tlaloc went after death to a cool, 
delightful place where they were happier than they could 
possibly have been on earth. There was a hall in the 
inner part of the great temple where these souls of the 
little ones were supposed to come on a certain day each 
year to assist in the service, and thither went these poor 
mothers to commune with the departed spirits or to think 
over their meritorious act of devotion. 



124 ABOUT MEXICO. 

Story of the Youth of Hungry Fox. 

Some of the descendants of Indian chiefs who were 
carried to Spain became noblemen in their adopted coun- 
try. Two of them wrote histories of ancient Mexico. 
The pictures of imperial splendor with which they daz- 
zled the eyes of their European readers were, no doubt, 
highly colored to suit the times and to vindicate their 
own claim to rank with the princes of Spain. The 
brightest figure which they describe is that of a chief 
who was, no doubt, a king among men, whatever may 
have been his office or his title. The story of his boy- 
hood and his youth is a picture of life in one of the pala- 
tial houses of Mexico during one of its stormiest ages. 

About one hundred years before the Spanish came into 
the valley the city of Tezcuco was taken by its neighbors, 
the Tepanacs, and its people were brought under trib- 
ute to the conquerors. The son of the Tezcucan chief 
was then a boy of fifteen just graduated from school, 
and probably out in his first battle. When the Tezcu- 
cans were forced to retreat, the boy took refuge in a tree. 
While hiding there he saw his father and a few faithful 
followers overpowered by the enemy and literally cut to 
pieces. He waited until the victors had gone, when he 
cautiously made his way down and fled away, only to be 
discovered and carried in triumph to the Tepanac city. 
With fettered hands and a yoke about his neck, he moved 
on with a sad procession of captives through the fields and 
the forests, across the lake, and on and on till they reached 
the flower-wreathed arches under which the Tepanac 
elders and women greeted their victorious army with 
songs of welcome. He was led to the temple to bow 
before the idol, and then, with other prisoners, to await 
the death which his captors should choose for him. In 



CHILD-LIFE IN MEXICO. 125 

this place of doom he found that the keeper of the prison 
was one of his father's old friends. As the story goes, 
the old man, knowing that no ransom was possible in 
the case, offered to take his place in the cell — a kind- 
ness which cost him his life. After his release the boy 
found his way to the Aztec capital, and through the in- 
fluence of friends there he was allowed to cross the lake 
to his old home in Tezcuco. Here he lived a quiet, 
studious life for eight years, watched, no doubt, by the 
eagle-eyes of the Tepanac deputy, who never forgot that 
some day the slain chief would be avenged by the hands 
of his son. 

In time a new Tepanac chief was elected, more fierce 
and suspicious than the conqueror of Tezcuco, and con- 
gratulations on his accession to office seem to have been 
expected from all his tributaries. Our young Tezcucan 
came with others, bringing an offering of flowers ; but a 
cold reception awaited him, and he was warned that his 
life was in danger. He returned to Tezcuco as soon as 
possible, only to find that his life was not safe there even 
in his capacity of a humble student. Maxtla, the Tepa- 
nac chief, had determined that he should die. Orders 
were given that he should be murdered while attending 
one of the religious festivals. His teacher, with fatherly 
care for the youth, put in his place a person who strongly 
resembled his pupil, and thus a second time was his life 
saved by the sacrifice of that of another. 

Maxtla now sent a strong body of soldiers to Tezcuco, 
with orders to kill the young man wherever or whenever 
they found him. He was playing ball in the courtyard 
with a party of friends, and, desiring to finish the game, 
he ordered refreshments to be set before the soldiers. 
Without losing sight of their intended victim, the hun- 



126 ABOUT MEXICO. 

gry men sat down to eat. Now, Tezcucan etiquette de- 
manded that guests should be welcomed with the sweet 
fumes of incense. The attendants were told to heap the 
burning censer, which stood in the doorway, high with 
fragrant gums, until such a dense smoke arose that by its 
aid the young man slipped away unobserved and hid in 
the earthen pipes of an aqueduct under the house. 
When night came on, the fugitive made his way into 
the street and to the cottage of a friend not far away. 
A price was now set on his head and a reward offered to 
any one who would bring him, dead or alive, to Maxtla. 

The close search which followed reminds us of King 
David's wandering life among the hills of old Judea. 
At one time the youth is hidden by friendly hands under 
a heap of maguey-fibres which had been prepared for the 
loom ; then he is heard of in the wild mountain-fast- 
nesses of Tlascala, living on roots and herbs. Ventur- 
ing out, he is tracked to a field where a girl is cutting 
chia, a plant used in making a favorite Mexican beverage. 
The girl recognizes him, and, hearing his pursuers not 
far away, she hides him under the pile of chia stalks 
which she has just cut, in time to put the baffled soldiers 
on a wrong track. It was during these days of suffering 
and peril that the young Tezcucan took the name of 
Nezacoyuhuatl (" Hungry Fox "), which he afterward 
made so famous as that of a warrior, a philosopher, a 
lawgiver and a poet. 

When by the help of their Aztec confederates the 
Tezcucans regained their ancient power, Hungry Fox 
beautified their city on the lake-side until in splendor 
and extent it must have equaled the grandest cities 
of Central America. The remains of one of his palatial 
dwellings — which was said to have contained three hun- 



CHILD-LIFE IN MEXICO. 127 

dred rooms — have furnished an inexhaustible quarry for 
the churches and the public buildings erected by the 
Spaniards near its site. In one of the magnificent parks 
laid out under the direction of this chief the humble name 
he bore was frequently set forth in the lean figure of a 
coyote, or fox, carved in stone. He never seemed to be 
weary of picturing those days of trial when he was a 
hunted fugitive in the land over which he became chief 
ruler. Some of his poems, preserved to this day in the 
writings of his great grandson, remind us of the book of 
Ecclesiastes ; they have the same sad refrain : " Vanity 
of vanities, all is vanity !" With all that the world 
could give, Hungry Fox found it to be an unsatisfying 
portion. To him the past was not more full of sorrow 
than the future was of doubt, and in the chilling shadow 
of both the present had no true light or peace. 



CHAPTER XI. 

A GATHERING CLOUD. 

CENTURIES had passed since Feathered Serpent 
sailed from Mexico to his unknown home in the 
East. His was probably the last pale face seen in that 
part of the continent until Columbus, searching for a 
gateway to India, coasted along Honduras in 1504. 

It will be remembered that on this voyage the Span- 
ish vessels, which had stopped at an island to fill their 
water-casks, saw a large canoe coming landward, prob- 
ably on the same errand. It brought a trading-party of 
Indians from some point on the mainland. The first 
glimpse which Europeans had of Mexico was gained 
from the account which these voyagers gave. For fifteen 
years, or more, however, no eifort was made to follow up 
this clue. Meanwhile, the Mexican traders went home 
with news which must have thrilled every gossip in all 
that region. Not one of their party had seen a white 
man before. The bearded sailors, their white-winged 
ships, the strange goods offered in barter, together with 
the fact that they hailed from the East, stirred anew the 
hope cherished by many thoughtful Mexicans that Feath- 
ered Serpent was about to fulfill his promise to return, 
gather his followers about him, and once more become 
the leader and the benefactor of their long oppressed 
and divided people. 

128 



A GATHERING CLOUD. 129 

For more than one hundred years had the Aztecs been 
preying on other tribes. There was scarcely a tribe south 
of the table-land, from the Gulf to the ocean and as far 
down the coast as Yucatan, but was feeding this proud 
people with its best products. Field and fishery, mine 
and workshop, were subject to the cruel exactions of a 
resident officer appointed by one or all of the confederate 
tribes. Most cruel tyranny of all, the flower of the 
youth were yearly claimed for sacrifice upon the altars 
of these allies. We hear of a few tribes who would 
not bow their necks to the yoke. Brave Tlascala — 
a little republic penned up in the mountains between 
Mexico and the sea — went for years without cotton, 
salt or cacao because she could not produce these articles 
herself and would not admit confederate traders lest they 
should prove to be spies. Feeble remnants of several 
other tribes still existing can proudly boast that no 
banner of Montezuma's ever floated above their land. 

Old prophecies about Feathered Serpent now loomed 
up as never before. There were storms and floods, earth- 
quakes and meteors, which gloomily heralded his ap- 
proach. One night in 1517, when there was no earth- 
quake, nor even a storm in the air, Lake Tezcuco rose 
suddenly in a great wave and flooded the city. Comets 
glared in the sky, and once a strange untimely light in 
the east seemed the forerunner of a new sun. Would 
not the Fair God — as Feathered Serpent was called — be 
angry when he came back and found his altars polluted 
with blood and his name made hateful to those who were 
groaning under the burdens imposed upon them by the 
Aztec religion ? 

Whether or not Montezuma, the Aztec " chief-of-men " 
in those days, had a part in thus misrepresenting Feathered 

9 



1 30 ABO UT MEXICO. 

Serpent we cannot tell. When chosen by his peers to 
fill this high office, he was a priest in the great temple, 
and as such he must have known that Feathered Serpent 
had forbidden the loathsome and cruel rites which 
through Aztec influence had become common. As a 
priest he was well read, also, in the ancient history of 
his people. Nothing disheartened him so much as 
prophecies about Feathered Serpent. He believed that 
he was a man of flesh and blood like himself, whose fol- 
lowers might be expected to come again at any time to 
Mexico to fulfill his promised mission. If they did, a 
revolution was certain. Montezuma would no longer be 
" chief-of-men " and Aztec power would be humbled. 
These thoughts filled the chief with the deepest gloom. 
Rumors of the visit of Columbus to America and the 
presence of Spanish colonists in Cuba were probably 
afloat, and had reached the ears of the ever-vigilant 
council of chiefs. A coast-guard was on duty night and 
day, and fleet-footed couriers were ready to bear the news 
of an invasion to the proud city on the lake. 

None were so frequently consulted in the council as 
were the shaggy-haired priests. Their night-watches in 
the towers of the great teocattis gave them the best pos- 
sible opportunity of reading the stars. In no other way 
could the dark-minded Mexicans come so near to Him 
who made them as by studying the movements of the 
celestial bodies. But every sign now foretold disaster. 
In vain the soothsayers went through long fasts and 
cruel penances. The gods did not hear, though prayers 
to them were mumbled with tongues torn and bleeding 
with the thorns worn to gain their favor. 

Not long before the arrival of the white men a priest- 
ess, a maiden nearly related to Montezuma, professed to 



A GATHERING CLOUD. 131 

have had a vision of tall-masted ships approaching the 
shore, and of pale-faced, bearded men in strange cloth- 
ing landing on the coast with instruments of warfare 
unknown to her people. But beyond her ken, far over 
the blue waves which Feathered Serpent crossed in his 
retreat, a great nation was unconsciously preparing for 
the conquest of Mexico. 

The earliest Spanish colonies were planted on several 
of the West India Islands. Every ship brought a horde 
of needy adventurers. In their insatiable thirst for gold 
they trod down the gentle, indolent race they found there 
until not one was left. The most cruel slavery prevailed 
wherever a Spaniard set his foot. 

As the islanders melted away before their taskmasters, 
slave-hunting expeditions were fitted out by the planters 
to ravage other islands in search of new victims. It 
was during one of these slave-hunts that the Gulf of 
Mexico was discovered. Francisco Hernandez de Cor- 
dova, a Spanish planter in Cuba, was on his way to the 
Bahamas after a cargo of slaves, when a fearful storm 
drove the vessel far out of her course toward the west. 
After tossing about for three weeks he landed on the 
coast of Yucatan. He found there a people very differ- 
ent from the islanders among whom he had lived. The 
adventurers landed near a large Indian town. The in- 
habitants came out to see them, and seemed at first very 
friendly. But this proved to be a stratagem to draw the 
visitors into a better position for the battle which the 
natives intended to bring on. They had heard of the 
Spaniards and their white-winged ships, and probably 
of their slave-hunts, and determined to have nothing to 
do with the treacherous palefaces. In the fight which 
they provoked with the Spaniards it was proved that the 



132 ABOUT MEXICO. 

natives were no match for the invaders, though they suc- 
ceeded in wounding several of them with the darts and 
the flint-edged wooden swords which they carried. De 
Cordova took to his boats again with his men, and, 
keeping in sight of land, went north and landed in 
Campeachy. The people here, though more civil than 
their neighbors down the coast, were no better pleased 
to see the strangers. 

Here were well-built temples of stone. The priests, in 
long white garments, came with censers full of burning 
coals in their hands. On these they dropped sweet- 
scented gums, and swung them before their visitors to 
perfume the air. Others had bundles of dried reeds, 
which they laid in order on the ground and set on fire, 
motioning that if their visitors did not go back to their 
vessels before those reeds were burned up it would be 
worse for them. They stood silently about the little 
fire, waiting with folded hands the departure of the in- 
truders. This gentle hint was taken, or there would 
have been another battle — as there was not long after- 
ward, when De Cordova landed at a large village called 
Potonchan. There were farmers living in large, sub- 
stantial stone houses surrounded by cornfields. The 
Spaniards stopped here to fill their water-casks at a 
spring, when the natives attacked them, killing forty- 
seven, wounding others and taking five prisoners. Five 
of De Cordova's men died on board ship, and he him- 
self lived but a few days after his return to Cuba. 

This expedition brought back a good report of the 
country. De Cordova had kidnapped two of the young 
men of Yucatan, clad in their native costume. Nothing 
interested his Spanish neighbors, however, so much as the 
ornaments of wrought gold which these savages wore. 




INDIGENOS OF NORTHERN GUATEMALA. 



134 



ABOUT MEXICO. 



They imagined that this new " island " was full of mines 
of gold, silver and precious stones. They had been dis- 
appointed in the mineral riches of Cuba ; here was the 
opening of which they had dreamed. The governor of 
Cuba, Velasquez, lost no time in fitting out an expe- 
dition to go in search of these treasures. He gave the 
command to Juan de Grijalva, his nephew, who set sail 
May 1, 1518, for this new field of conquest. If the In- 
dians received them peaceably, Grijalva had gay cloths 



EARLY DISCOVERIES 
IN NEW SPAIN. 




1 

Sfe 

x .d& 



-WMk 



and trinkets for presents and barter ; if they were hos- 
tile, he was provided with guns and ammunition. 

Grijalva's fleet was caught in a storm. After beating 
about for a while he was borne on its strong wings to 
Cozumel, a small island south of the north-eastern corner 
of Yucatan. He soon crossed over the mainland and 
went to Potonchan, where the farmers had so roughly 
handled De Cordova and his men. This second visit 
ended in a second battle, in which the Spaniards were 
victorious. 



A GATHERING CLOUD. 135 

As the voyagers sailed westward along the coast for 
several hundred miles they saw with admiring eyes pleas- 
ant villages surrounded with luxuriant trees and wide- 
spreading fields. The houses and temples, so lofty and 
white in the distance, reminded the strangers of their 
native land, and they called the whole region ]N~ew Spain 
— a name it bore on European maps for many a year. 

While Grijalva was on the borders of Mexico the great 
council of the Aztec nation sent some of their police- 
officers down to the coast to interview the visitors. They 
could communicate with each other only by signs, it is 
true, but in this pursuit of knowledge under difficulties 
both parties were deeply impressed. The Aztecs gave 
Grijalva to understand that they came by the orders of 
Montezuma, a great chief who lived some distance from 
Tabasco, to the north-west. This is the first mention in 
European history of the now-famous chief, Montezuma. 

Touching at San Juan d'Ulua, the Spaniards saw a 
temple where bloody remains showed that human sacri- 
fices had just been offered. This sickening sight stirred 
up their religious zeal and reminded them that the con- 
version of the savages to Christianity should be one great 
object in their journey to the West. 

As soon as possible after his nephew's return Governor 
Velasquez prepared to follow up his expedition with one 
which should bring more glory to Spanish arms and 
more gold into his own pockets. Grijalva had done so 
much better as an explorer than he had done as a sol- 
dier that he was displaced and the command given to 
Hernando Cortez, who had been one of the conquerors 
of Cuba in 1511, and was now master of a fine planta- 
tion. He was young, handsome, enterprising and pop- 
ular ; recruits flocked to his standard, and six ships were 



136 ABOUT MEXICO. 

soon fitted out. One hundred and fifty of Grijalva's 
followers enlisted under Cortez, besides other volunteers 
numbering six hundred men. While in Trinidad the sol- 
diers were set to work to quilt their jackets with cotton, 
which grew in great abundance around the place. This 
was a fashion borrowed from the Indians, and served a 
good purpose in warding on the arrows used in battle. 
Hard fighting was expected, but little did the busy army 
of quilters dream of the bloody struggle before them, or 
how great and far-reaching would be its consequences. 

The instructions given by the Spanish authorities to 
their military leaders in the New World were such as 
would suit an army of crusaders. Such, in fact, the in- 
vaders were, though their zeal for Christianity spent itself 
in forcing the pagans to bow to crosses and images and to 
accept the pope as lord of lords. This potentate had kindly 
divided all the world outside of Europe between his faith- 
ful children the king of Spain and the king of Portugal. 
Several popes had given to the latter the undiscovered 
world from Cape Bojador, in Africa, to India. On the 
4th of May, 1493, Alexander VI. published a bull in 
which he drew an imaginary line from the north pole 
to the south pole one hundred leagues west of the Azores, 
giving to Spain all that lay west and to Portugal all that 
lay east of it. With a commission from his king to take 
possession of such an inheritance, and one from Pome to 
convert all the heathen, each soldier felt himself to be a 
Heaven-sent missionary, and, however wicked he might 
otherwise be, his good work for the Church would atone 
for all his sins and secure for him at last a seat in para- 
dise. The flag of the expedition showed that it was going 
on a religious errand. On a ground of white and blue 
was a red cross surrounded with flames of fire. Its 



•SHWin^in 



mtm mm 




PRESENT INHABITANTS OF MERIDA, YUCATAN. 



138 ABOUT MEXICO. 

motto, translated, was, "Friends, let us follow the cross; 
in that sign we shall conquer." 

After a solemn celebration of the mass and a devout 
prayer to St. James, the patron saint of Cortez, the ex- 
pedition sailed for Mexico, February 18, 1519, in six 
ships, the largest of which were only from seventy to 
eighty tons burden. The fleet took the route to Yuca- 
tan, intending to creep westward along the shore until 
the domain of the great Indian chief was reached. Two 
priests, Olmedo and Juan Diaz, accompanied the army ; 
the latter had been over the ground before with Grijalva. 
Both were very much in earnest about their missionary 
work. 

The first attempts seem to have been more successful 
than some which followed. On the island of Cozumel 
was a large temple to which pilgrims came from long 
distances. Near it stood a huge stone cross which from 
the earliest times had been adored as the god of rain. 
Cortez began his work of reform in this holy place. As 
but very little could be done in the way of preaching, on 
account of ignorance of the language, Cortez gave the 
natives an object-lesson by ordering his men to pull down 
the gods enshrined in the temple.* The* people shud- 
dered at his impiety, groaned and wrung their hands, 
expecting that fire would come down from heaven to 
punish this sacrilege. Then, finding that no such re- 
sult followed, they yielded after a slight resistance, and 
even helped the soldiers to pull down the old idols, whose 
impotency had been made so plain, and to put up the 
saints and the Virgin in their places. This done, they 
began to burn incense before the new gods and to offer 

* The ruins of this temple are still to be seen on this now-deserted 
island. 



A GATHERING CLOUD. 139 

corn, fruits and quails, and asked Cortez to leave with 
them a teacher who could instruct them in this new re- 
ligion. 

Two of the natives of Yucatan had been taken to 
Cuba by Grijalva, and through them it appeared that 
several Christian captives were somewhere on the main- 
land. Cortez sent a ship after these men, and one of 
them was rescued. This was Geronimo de Aguilar, af- 
terward interpreter to the army. 



CHAPTER XII. 

NEW SPAIN. 

THE work accomplished by the army since leaving 
Cuba might well encourage Cortez to hope that his 
expedition, so far as missionary work was concerned, 
would be entirely successful. The idols of Cozumel, 
that famous heathen shrine, had been demolished, the 
Virgin and saints had been set up in their places, and 
the people had consented to sacrifice to them rather than 
to their old gods. 

Leaving this hospitable place, the fleet sailed for Ta- 
basco. Grijalva's reception here not long before had 
been very cordial, but the natives seemed to have 
changed their minds after he had gone. They eyed the 
Spaniards suspiciously through the loopholes of a strong 
timber wall which surrounded their town, and took all 
night to consider the polite request which Cortez sent, to 
be allowed to land to get water and provisions. Mean- 
while, the women and the children had been stealthily 
carried to a safe place in the mountains, and the warriors 
of the tribe rallied to defend the place. 

Finding that he was not welcome in the town, Cortez 
landed a short distance below it, on a small wooded island. 
Here, on a great ceyba tree, he made three cuts with his 
sword, to signify that he had taken possession of the 
country for his sovereign and the pope of Rome. The 

140 



NEW SPAIN. 141 

next morning the natives came in several boats to this 
spot, bringing as a gift fowls, fruit and vegetables, with 
a request from the chiefs that the visitors would " take 
these things and go away, never to trouble their country 
any more." 

"It is shameful in you to leave us to perish with hun- 
ger and thirst," said Aguilar. 

" You are strangers to us," replied the Indian spokes- 
man ; " your faces and your voices are frightful to us. 
We do not want any of you in our houses. If you need 
water, dip it up out of the river, or dig wells as we do." 

"Tell them," said Cortez to Aguilar, "that we shall 
never go away without seeing their town. I have been 
sent here by the greatest lord in the world, and I cannot 
return without a full account of this country. If they 
do not receive me as a friend, I shall commend myself to 
God and fight them." 

" You had better not boast in a country which does 
not belong to you," retorted the chief. "As to entering 
our town, we shall never permit it; we will kill you all 
first." 

Both parties now prepared for battle. The Indians 
came out with defiant yells. Although evidently terri- 
fied at the roar of the guns and the sight of " four-footed, 
two-headed beasts " (as they called the horses and their 
riders), they fought bravely until they were attacked on 
the land-side of the town, when they fled. Cortez and 
his men slept that night in the spacious temple. 

After another attempt to dislodge the invaders, the 
Indians came bringing a tribute of provisions, gold and 
a number of victims for sacrifice, in token that they had 
given up the contest. While they were in the camp 
some of the horses stabled near by began to neigh. The 



142 ABOUT MEXICO. 

Indians, very much frightened, asked anxiously what 
they said, supposing that these strange creatures were 
gifted with speech. Some wag of a soldier replied, 

" The horses are angry because your people have been 
fighting their masters." 

Upon this, the simple-minded natives made a humble 
apology to the animals, offering them flowers and turkey- 
hens to eat. 

As the army was in Tabasco over Palm Sunday, Cortez 
took occasion to give these heathen people a lesson in 
Christianity. He marched his men in solemn procession 
through the streets, each soldier bearing a palm-branch in 
his hand. The scene ended on the high platform of the 
temple. Here, in view of the awestruck multitude, the 
idols were taken down and a Virgin and Child put in 
their sacred places. The priests then celebrated mass 
and baptized the natives who had been given to them 
as tribute. 

A more cordial welcome awaited the fleet at its next 
landing on the coast of Mexico. The place of landing 
received from Cortez the name of San Juan d'Ulua. 
The people flocked to the beach and with smiles and 
gestures invited the ships to land. Before the anchor 
could be dropped two canoes were alongside the flag- 
ship with a message from the "governor." The new 
comers asked to see the leader of the squadron ; and 
when shown into his presence, they bowed low and said, 

" Teuthile has sent to ask what people you are, what 
is your business here and what he can do for you." 

The language was so different from that which Aguilar 
had learned in Yucatan that it was necessary to keep up 
the conversation by signs. With the help of a good sup- 
per, it was not very hard to make the messengers under- 



NEW SPAIN. 143 

stand that the Spaniards were friendly and would call on 
their master the next day. 

Cortez landed on Good Friday, April 21, 1519. With 
the help of their Cuban slaves and the natives the army 
were soon sheltered in booths and tents, while a great cross 
of wood was raised in the centre of the camp. The peo- 
ple, determined to see all that was going on, began to put 
up huts for themselves, brought beds, provisions and cook- 
ing-utensils, and prepared to stay while the great show 
lasted. Many a dainty dish cooked in native style found 
its way into the Spanish camp from the ovens and the 
kettles of these thrifty Indian dames. Yet Cortez 
ordered that a strict Avatch should be kept against In- 
dian treachery— a precaution which the lawless character 
of many of his own men rendered necessary. 

Teuthile did not wait for the promised visit from Cor- 
tez. He was a representative of the Aztec council— prob- 
ably one of their collectors of tribute— and he knew that 
it was his duty to look well after these strangers. He 
came into the camp the next morning with a number of 
attendants, some of whom were porters laden with pro- 
visions and other gifts for the visitors. He paid his re- 
spects to Cortez by burning incense before him, and little 
straws which had been touched with his own blood. In 
return for the rich ornaments in gold and silver and 
feather-work which he received, Cortez gave a robe of 
silk, a glittering necklace of glass, curious beads, scissors, 
mirrors and articles made of iron and wool— materials of 
which the Mexicans knew nothing. 

So far it had not been necessary to use words, but now 
there might have been awkward pauses but for a conver- 
sation which was observed between one of the deputy's at- 
tendants and Marina, an Indian girl who had been given, 



144 ABOUT MEXICO. 

among other articles of tribute, to the Spaniards at Ta- 
basco. On inquiry, it was found that this girl was 
an Aztec by birth, of the tribe Teuthile represented, a 
chiefs daughter, who after her father's death had been 
sold by her mother, and had been taken south to Tabas- 
co. She was the first person baptized at Tabasco, and 
was thus the first nominal Christian Indian in all Amer- 
ica. She soon brought Gortez and Teuthile into conver- 
sation, and afterward became chief interpreter between 
her people and their conquerors. 

It was on Easter Sunday that this first visit of the 
Aztecs to the Spanish camp took place. Cortez and his 
men, having first attended mass, invited their Indian 
guests to a Spanish dinner. 

As they were viewing the camp Teuthile saw a gilt 
helmet belonging to Cortez, and expressed a wish that 
Montezuma might have one like it. Cortez immediately 
handed it to him, saying, 

" Take it to your master, and may he soon return it 
to me full of his gold ! I wish to compare it with some 
we have in Spain." 

The helmet was not the only thing sent to Montezuma 
on that eventful day. Some of the Spanish officers, ob- 
serving a group of Aztecs busy in one corner, went to 
see what they were doing, and were surprised to find 
that they were official reporters getting up the despatches 
which their chief was obliged to send to Mexico. Pen- 
cil in hand, these men were sketching the camp, the 
Spanish soldiers in their helmets and coats of mail, 
the horses — in gala-array, to do honor to the occasion 
— the black-throated guns, the tall-masted ships riding 
at anchor not far away, with many other things which 
they did not comprehend, but which gave the Mexican 



NEW SPAIN. 145 

council an exact idea of the numbers and the probable 
strength of these visitors. 

Here was a fine opportunity for Cortez. He deter- 
mined that these despatches should make a sensation such 
as was never before known in all Mexico. He ordered out 
his men for a full-dress parade. The drums beat and the 
bugles sounded an alarm. Instantly the troops formed 
in order of battle, and the horses, inspirited not only by 
the music, but by the roar of the cannon, pranced about, 
while the heavy shot, aimed at the dense forest back of 
the camp, splintered the tree-branches like thunderbolts 
from the sky. Some of the Indians fell to the earth and 
cowered in the dust, while others took to their heels. A 
chieftain's dignity was for the moment forgotten in that 
wild rush for the woods. All that the Aztecs had ever 
heard of gods descending to the earth in human form 
was now revived. Had not three hundred of them just 
arrived and taken possession of the country? The effect 
which Cortez desired having been produced, he soothed 
his terror-stricken guests with gentle tones and reassuring 
smiles, while Marina, who had heard the guns at Tabas- 
co, did what she could to quiet their fears, telling them 
they were safe from the power of these terrible black 
monsters, which were now in the hands of their friends. 
When the confusion was over and the painters were at 
work again on their despatches, they had some new and 
startling facts to report, and perhaps nothing more so 
than an Aztec stampede. 

In a few days ambassadors from the City of Mexico 
made their appearance in camp with a splendid array of 
presents and a message from Montezuma. They said he 
did not want the white men to brave the dangers and 
fatigue of the long road to Mexico, neither did it suit the 
10 



146 ABOUT MEXICO. 

dignity of his office to come and see the strangers. The 
presents he had sent would express his good- will, and he 
desired that they might soon return with safety to their 
own country. 

If anything more was needed to excite the army to 
press on and examine the treasures of Mexico for them- 
selves, the gifts just brought to their camp from that 
wonderful city over the mountains would be all that 
was necessary. The helmet sent to Montezuma was 
returned at this time filled with gold, as Cortez had 
requested. 

A troop of Indian servitors had spread mats on the 
ground and piled thereon in great heaps the goods they 
had brought. Among them were cotton mantles plaided 
in gay colors. Others were shaggy on the outside, with a 
white lining, woven in one thickness ; enough garments 
of this description were given to clothe Cortez and all 
his men. There were also deerskin shoes embroidered 
with gold thread and having white and blue soles, gilded 
shields adorned with brilliant feathers and seed-pearls, 
crowns of feathers and gold mitres set with precious 
stones in curious patterns, rich plumes fretted with gold 
and pearls, fans in magnificent variety, golden fishes, 
birds, animals, sea-shells of gold and silver, so skillfully 
wrought as exactly to imitate these productions of nature, 
the feathers, skins and hair being superior to any Euro- 
pean workmanship. The most remarkable objects in this 
collection were two large wheels, or disks, one of gold 
and the other of silver, representing the sun and the 
moon. Both were formed of plates of these metals, on 
which animals and other objects in nature were wrought 
in raised figures and exquisitely finished. These were 
Aztec calendars, representing their divisions of time, 



NEW SPAIN. 147 

and were worth two hundred and twenty thousand dol- 
lars. When these articles were sent to Spain, they were 
accompanied by four Mexican chiefs and two native 
women. These appeared before the emperor Charles Y. 
dressed in their native costume. The warriors had jewels 
set in gold hanging from their ears and lips — a fashion 
which the Spanish courtiers thought very unbecoming in 
men, but one which these Indians considered altogether 
ornamental. This exhibition took place in one of the 
northern cities in Spain. The emperor, after questioning 
about the climate, was considerate enough to send his 
visitors to the warmest corner of Spain, where they 
need not be exposed to sudden changes of temperature. 
Montezuma's gifts only whetted the Spaniards' appetite 
for gold. However, the next embassy from Mexico, which 
came in a few days, brought more gifts, but a firm re- 
fusal from the council of chiefs to allow the army to 
approach any nearer to the city. 

That evening, as the sun sank behind the woods and 
the Aztec officials were preparing to leave, the bell rang 
for vespers. There was a sudden dispersion of the group 
which always gathered about the presents. Every man 
hurried to the large wooden cross which had been set up 
in camp, and, kneeling on the sand, began to pray with 
the most ostentatious devotion. So religious a people as 
the Aztecs could not fail to understand such movements, 
although they did not know what god was addressed. 
Father Olmedo told them that the chief object of this 
visit of Europeans to their coast was to bring to its peo- 
ple a knowledge of the one true God and Jesus Christ, 
whom he had sent to be the Saviour of the world, show- 
ing them, at the same time, an image of the Virgin Mary 
with the infant Jesus. When the address was finished, 



148 ABOUT MEXICO. 

this image was formally presented to the Aztec chiefs, 
with the request that they would set it up in their 
temple instead of those of the bloodthirsty gods which 
they worshiped. The Aztecs accepted this gift very 
gravely, thinking, perhaps, it was not safe to dispute 
with preachers who could back their arguments with 
horses and cannon. 

The next morning the Spanish sentinel, when he 
looked in the direction of the Indian huts by which 
the camp was surrounded, found that they were all de- 
serted ; the natives had stolen away in the night. The 
venders of fruit, vegetables and poultry on which the 
army had depended for its supplies had vanished, and 
the invaders were left between the sea and the woods 
with no certain prospect of sustenance from either. The 
outlook was very gloomy. The low, hot, unhealthy beach 
where they were encamped became a place of graves for 
the Spaniards. Many an ambitious adventurer was laid 
under the shadow of those tall trees while they were there. 
The survivors became more and more discontented and 
despondent. 

Cortez resolved not only to seek a better situation, but, 
when it was found, to build a city which would serve as 
a base of supplies for his army and show the people of the 
country that he had come to stay. Most of his men had 
but one idea : they had come to make what money they 
could in a short visit, and to go back to Cuba with their 
spoils. Cortez, who had heard of the rich and prosper- 
ous tribes in the interior, believed he had only to cross 
the mountains rising behind the camp like a wall to reach 
a land of fabulous wealth and fertility. He determined 
not to wait for any invitation from Montezuma, but to 
push his way to the capital, see the famous chief in his 



NEW SPAIN. 149 

own palace, bring him into subjection to the pope and 
the king of Spain, convert the people to the true faith, 
settle the country, and, best of all, turn into the coffers 
of his own land the stream of gold which he believed 
to be flowing into those of Mexico. He saw that the 
greatest difficulty would be to bring his own army so to 
appreciate the grandeur of such an enterprise as to forget 
personal ambition in this splendid conquest for Church 
and State. His first step was to send a party northward 
along the coast to explore the country, and to find, if 
possible, a good harbor and a navigable river which 
would furnish a path into the interior. After an absence 
of three weeks his men came back with the report that, 
although they could find no good harbor, they saw a spot 
sheltered by a high rock where two rivers emptied into 
the Gulf. There was plenty of fine timber, good stone 
for building, pasture for cattle and tillable lands. Cor- 
tez decided to send his vessels up to this point with the 
stores, while he, with four hundred men and the horses, 
went by land. 

Before camp was broken five Indian visitors came in 
one morning who quite turned the current of thought 
for the homesick men and made it much easier for Cortez 
to carry out his plans. In dress, manner and appearance 
these Indians were quite different from any the Spaniards 
had seen, although they were red like other Indians, with 
straight black hair. But their faces were curiously deco- 
rated with gold-leaf, put on in patches, and bright blue 
stones and gold rings in ears and nostrils. Two of these 
five men understood enough of the Aztec language to tell 
the girl Marina that they were Totonacs, of a powerful 
tribe at Cempoalla, a place twenty-five miles distant 
toward the north. Not long before the arrival of the 



150 ABOUT MEXICO. 

Spaniards this tribe had been beaten in battle by the 
Aztecs, and the heavy tribute exacted from them by 
the victors was a great grievance. Their distress at 
this particular time was very evident. They spoke bit- 
terly of children who had just been claimed for sacrifice 
on Aztec altars, and seemed very anxious to throw off 
the intolerable burdens which had been laid upon them. 
Would these powerful white men come to their own 
country and become their allies ? 

Nothing could have pleased the wily Spaniard better 
than such a proposal. He had supposed that the Az- 
tecs were a united people, and that Montezuma, seated 
on an imperial throne, had only to lift his sceptre for an 
obedient nation to prostrate itself before him. But here, 
ripe for revolt, was a tributary people that he could by 
skillful management separate from Mexico and use as 
the thin edge of the wedge which would finally disrupt 
the Aztec empire. 



CHAPTER XIII. 
CEMPOALLA TO TLASGALA. 

THE road to Cerapoalla lay through luxuriant groves 
of cocoa and palm trees, and then amid beautiful 
meadows alive with butterflies and birds. Flowering 
vines in a gay tangle clambered aloft, festooning the 
trees and loading the air with palm and spicery. As 
the Spaniards passed they saw on the face of nature one 
of those cruel blots of war — the blackened ruins of a 
little hamlet which had just been burned. Cempoalla 
was only twelve miles from their new campground, 
and was a city surrounded by well-kept gardens and 
orchards. 

In one of the suburban villages through which they 
passed the Spaniards were met by twenty of the leading 
men of Cempoalla, who came bringing refreshments 
from their chief. Here the road was lined with crowds 
eager to see the strange creatures who seemed to these 
simple folk to have dropped among them from the 
moon. The men wore large mantles ; the women were 
modestly dressed in long white or parti-colored cotton 
robes reaching from neck to ankle. They brought 
wreaths of wild flowers to hang about the horses' necks 
and to strew in the path, as was their custom when wel- 
coming home their own braves. Both men and women 
were very much bejeweled. Necks and noses, ears, lips, 

151 



152 ABOUT MEXICO. 

arms and ankles, had that profusion of glittering orna- 
ments which rude races so much admire. 

As the soldiers made their way through the crowd 
some horsemen riding in advance came dashing back 
with news. They had been near enough to look within 
the walls of Cempoalla, and saw there houses of bur- 
nished silver most dazzling to behold. In the glowing 
sunlight the white stucco of which they were built gave 
the buildings a glistening appearance which the excited 
cavaliers thought was due to a plating of some precious 
metal. On a nearer view of the place they compared it 
to Seville, one of the most beautiful cities of Spain, and 
named it thus without further delay. 

An immense white building with loopholed towers 
stood in the market-place, and in this the army was 
invited to take up its quarters. Here the hospitable 
dames of Cempoalla made ready a good supper, which 
they spread on the floor for their guests. Clean mats for 
bedding were brought in abundance, and with these at- 
tentions the Indians politely withdrew, leaving their vis- 
itors to dispose of themselves for the night. After set- 
ting a strong guard the tired soldiers lay down to rest 
surrounded by what they estimated was a population 
of sixty thousand Indians. 

The next morning the chief came to pay a visit of 
state to the new comers. He was led into the presence 
of Cortez, supported under each arm by a chief and fol- 
lowed by a company of servitors bringing rich presents. 
Cortez returned the visit in due form the next day. The 
conversation soon turned upon the late political events in 
Mexico. The chief complained bitterly of Aztec oppres- 
sion and eagerly sought an alliance with the Spaniards. 

Nothing since he left Cuba had given Cortez so much 



154 



ABOUT MEXICO. 



hope of conquering Mexico as this story of a house divided 
against itself. He had modern experience, as well as 
scriptural authority, for believing that in this con- 
dition of things Montezuma's power could be over- 
thrown. But he was politic enough to conceal his design 
of conquest under the veil of religion. He explained at 
length and very earnestly that he had come to Mexico on 







a missionary errand ; he wished to set up among the peo- 
ple the true religion and to abolish human sacrifice. On 
his way to Cempoalla he had passed a temple where 
bloody human offerings had just been made, and the 
indignation of the soldiers over the dreadful sight thus 
presented was still burning; and had the general followed 
their advice, it is probable that these priestly butchers of 
the tribe would never have taken knife in hand again. 

After enjoying Cempoallan hospitality for a few days 
the army took up the line of march to their new encamp- 
ment, near the site of their proposed city. This was on 



CEMPOALLA TO TLASCALA. 155 

the seacoast, only twelve miles from Cempoalla and in 
the country of the Totonaes. The whole tribe, it ap- 
peared, were as ready as the people of Cempoalla to 
throw off the hated Aztec yoke. Strengthened by the 
presence of their powerful visitors, they refused to pay 
the taxes then due. Still further to curry favor with the 
Spaniards, they went vigorously to work to help build 
the new town. Stone, lime and timber were to be brought 
to its site, and hands were needed to rear the walls of what 
must have been, when the cannon were mounted, an al- 
most impregnable fortress. 

Meanwhile, Teuthile's late despatches had made a 
great stir in the City of Mexico. Every movement in 
the Spanish camp had been stealthily noted long after 
Indians had been ordered to leave the neighborhood. 
Reporters lurking in the woods had pictured the fast-in- 
creasing graves on the beach, the vessels departing for the 
north with part of the forces, and, what was most of all 
to be dreaded, that visit from their enemies the fierce 
Totonaes. All this, with the march along the shore 
toward the Totonacan capital, had been pictured faith- 
fully and sent by express to Mexico. How to break 
this league between their tributary tribe and the Span- 
iards was the question brought before the perplexed 
council. Supposing that, like Indians, these people 
from over the sea would be satisfied with tribute and 
would go away to leave them to manage their own 
affairs, they resolved to try what effect gold and other 
costly presents would have upon them. Two of Monte- 
zuma's nephews, with a brilliant array of other chiefs, now 
set out for the camp to spread before Cortez another 
magnificent presentation of gifts. 

About the same time all Cempoalla was thrown into 



156 ABOUT MEXICO. 

a flutter of excitement by a demand from the council of 
Mexico for twenty young men and maidens to be sacri- 
ficed on the high altar there; this was intended as a pun- 
ishment for daring to entertain the strangers without per- 
mission. Cortez saw his opportunity • he ordered his 
new allies to seize these messengers and put them in 
prison. The poor Cempoallans shrank in terror, not 
daring to offer such an affront to their haughty Aztec 
masters. On the other hand were these mysterious 
strangers, who might crush them while professing to 
shield them from their oppressors. But Cortez was 
firm. Would they break with their Aztec masters or 
with him ? Of the two evils, the puzzled Cempoallans 
chose what seemed to be the least : they resolved to 
throw themselves on the mercy of a Spanish rather 
than a Mexican conqueror, and the surprised tax-col- 
lectors were soon thrust behind prison-bars. But they 
did not gnash their teeth with rage there very long, for 
Cortez, unknown to his allies, contrived to set them free 
that night, got them on board of one of his ships, and 
took them to a point where they could land with safety 
and speed back to Mexico to tell their story to the coun- 
cil, while, at the same time, he made a bid for Aztec 
friendship by thus delivering them. 

While the Totonacs were thus dependent on Cortez to 
shield them from Aztec vengeance, Cortez determined to 
bring them into the true Church ; he therefore took an 
opportunity to pay them a religious visit. He first tried 
by smooth words to persuade them to give up their idols. 
Finding that these would not avail, he impatiently ordered 
fifty of his men to mount the steps of the temple and 
demolish the idols with their pikes. The angry chief 
stormed and threatened that if this order was carried 



CEMPOALLA TO TLASCALA. 157 

out it would call down on their heads the vengeance of 
every god in Mexico. But Cortez coolly reminded him 
that the Aztecs would be glad to become allies of the 
Spaniards, and that if the Totonacs were not very civil 
to him he would leave them to settle the old score with 
their former masters without any help from him. This 
threat silenced the poor chief, but the people were furious. 
The priests called loudly on them to arise and defend 
their gods. They ran about in the crowd with wildly- 
streaming hair, beating their breasts in rage and despair. 
As usual, Cortez improved this circumstance. He now 
ordered his men to seize the chief and the leading priests, 
and, taking them apart, he gave them to understand that 
if they did not quiet the mob the city would soon be too 
hot to hold them. In order to save their own lives, they 
were thus obliged to check the excited multitude, and 
actually to aid the soldiers to pile up the wooden gods, 
with all their finery, and to burn them in the public 
square. With what groans and lamentations this was 
done can better be imagined than described. The sol- 
diers next took the temple in hand. Walls and floor, 
foul from disgusting worship, were soon cleansed and 
some bright new images set up in the empty shrine. 
Father Olmedo then gave the people a lesson in the 
worship due the idols of Rome just introduced to them ; 
he ordered the priests to take off their black tunics and 
put on white, and, with candles in their hands, to join in 
the solemn procession which wound up the temple-stairs, 
never again to echo the footsteps of those who carried up 
human victims to die on that high altar. One thing at 
least was effected : .the natives saw that the gods before 
whom they had trembled were unable to punish those who 
had thus insulted them, or to defend their worshipers. 



158 ABOUT MEXICO. 

While this work of converting the natives was going 
on, the revenue-officers, who had found their way back to 
Mexico after their escape from imprisonment in Cempo- 
alla, had created quite a change in public sentiment by 
their report to Montezuma and his council. After all, 
the strangers were their friends, and the " water-houses," 
as they called the ships, were blessings in disguise. Full 
of gratitude and admiration, they were now sent back to s 
their deliverers loaded with presents. The poor Totonacs, 
unable to understand this situation, were more than ever 
convinced that Cortez was not a human being, but the 
Fair God himself, and that he who could so trans- 
form the Aztecs was the only one who could protect 
them. 

On the 16th of August, Cortez began his march toward 
Mexico. He had with him five hundred of his own 
countrymen, fifteen horses and six field-pieces, with 
several of the principal men of Cempoalla as hostages 
for the good behavior of the city in his absence. With 
the gifts from Mexico, many baggage-porters were needed, 
and these were furnished by the Totonacan allies. The rest 
of the army were left as a garrison in the new town, then 
little more than a fortress. One of the soldiers, an old 
and devout man, was charged with the duty of training 
the people in the religion they had so unwillingly adopted. 
Part of his business was to teach them how to make wax 
candles. The woods in the neighborhood of Cempoalla 
were rich in wild fruits and berries, one species of the 
latter furnishing wax in large quantities. Out of this 
tapers were made, to burn before the Virgin and Child. 
The industrious natives were quite pleased with this new 
employment, and worked diligently to provide the tem- 
ple with lights far exceeding in brilliancy and steadiness 



CEMPOALLA TO TLASCALA. 159 

those of the fireflies with which they lighted their own 
houses. The new camp was now a regularly-organized 
colony of Spain. Cortez was chosen mayor, with his par- 
ticular friends as subordinates — a precaution very neces- 
sary among these restless adventurers. The name of the 
city was very long and very religious, according to the 
fashion of the times. It was Villa Rica de la Vera 
Cruz— " the Rich City of the True Cross." 

Past experience had taught Cortez that either great 
difficulties or a life of idleness would make his men 
homesick. He saw that hardship and delay were in- 
evitable, and feared that the sight of ships riding at 
anchor, ready to carry them back to Cuba, would be a 
temptation to them to desert ; he therefore determined to 
cut oif this opportunity by sinking all these vessels before 
he left the coast. He induced those who inspected the 
vessels to pronounce them worm-eaten and unsea worthy. 
The sails, the iron and the cordage were carefully taken 
out of them, and then a hole cut in the bottom of each 
ship sent it to the bottom, where no deserter could 
reach it. 

The chief of Cempoalla sent his ally abundance of 
provisions for the journey, with two hundred porters and 
four hundred warriors. It was the rainy season, and all 
nature was rioting in a luxuriance of growth known only 
in this high tide of a tropical year. Field and forest were 
teeming with life. Where the latter was threaded by 
footpaths a tangled undergrowth disputed every inch of 
a way which was never wide enough for two travelers to 
walk abreast. Passing from these forests into the culti- 
vated fields which surrounded every hamlet, the eye was 
gladdened by corn of such magnificent growth as com- 
pletely to overtop the low-roofed houses in which most 



160 ABOUT MEXICO. 

of the people of the lowlands lived. The banana, the 
plaintain, manioc, cocoa, vanilla and other tropical fruits 
made this a home of plenty. The white- walled villages 
nestling in these fertile plains were often unseen by the 
traveler until he could look down upon them from some 
breezy terrace on the mountains. 

The road took the army over some of the wildest 
passes. The steep side up which they clambered was 
here and there cleft by deep fissures ; these often formed 
the bed of a torrent hurrying onward to the Gulf. Where 
the path crossed these ravines a log or a leaning tree 
bridged the yawning chasm, or a single arch spanned 
it at some dizzy height. Up, up, up these frightful 
steeps the long lines of men and horses wound, often 
in paths wide enough for only a single passenger. From 
different points upon the way their eyes took in some of 
the grandest landscapes in the world. Sunny plains 
stretched far below, sloping gently toward the Gulf. 
Here and there the white walls and the towers of some 
pueblo gleamed through the deep green of surrounding 
orchards or crowned a hilltop. Tt is not probable that 
the country was densely populated. There were no scat- 
tered farmhouses, the home of a single family, as with us, 
but hamlets where a number gathered for mutual pro- 
tection. 

Beyond this lookout place the army passed into a re- 
gion of intense cold — that frigid zone which enwraps the 
world everywhere, if one only climbs sky ward far enough 
to find it. Here the vapors from the Gulf, wafted west- 
ward against the frozen mountains, were condensed, and 
fell ill a pitiless storm of sleet in which the troops perished. 
The thick garments of quilted cotton with which many had 
provided themselves at Trinidad were as great a protection 



CEMPOALLA TO TLASCALA. 161 

against the icy blast as against the Mexican arrows which 
they were intended to ward off, but the poor half-clad 
Cuban porters died by scores along the way. The sol- 
diers, benumbed with cold and suffering with hunger and 
thirst, were three days dragging their heavy cannon over 
these mountains. 

After leaving this dreary region the Spaniards came to 
a high valley on the mountain-side, where they found 
houses of hewn stone larger and better built than any 
they had yet seen in the country. Elegantly furnished 
apartments were put at their disposal by a chief whom 
Cortez styles " lord of the valley." When this man was 
asked if he was a subject of Montezuma, he drew him- 
self up proudly and asked, " Who is not a subject of 
Montezuma ?" as though he would say, " Is he not master 
of the world ?" Cortez insisted that His Lordship should 
do homage to the king of Spain, demanding some gold 
as a token of his obedience. 

This ceremony was easily understood by the Aztec. 
He consented to send to Montezuma this challenge from 
the white man, adding, 

" If Montezuma commands me to do so, I will give 
you not gold only, but myself and all that I possess." 

The Ti.ascalaxs. 
Next to the Aztecs, no tribe makes such a figure in 
Mexican history as the Tlascalans, a race of bold and 
hardy mountaineers who inhabited elevated valleys be- 
tween Mexico and the Gulf. Cortez had taken a road 
which led him near this region. He was advised by the 
Totonacs to secure the good-will of this tribe, and, if 
possible, to enter into league with it. For generations 
it had been at war with the Aztecs, and never once had 
11 



162 ABOUT MEXICO. 

it been forced to pay tribute to its proud neighbors around 
Lake Tezcuco, although it had been completely hemmed 
in by them, so that Tlascala had become a little world 
by itself, without a single gate through which it dared 
to procure the products of the Mexican valley. 

Cortez, who had ventured into the interior with but a 
handful of his own men, could not leave such a nest of 
warriors between him and his base of supplies on the 
coast. On the other hand, they might be made allies 
in case of war with the Aztecs. A visit to Tlascala was 
therefore resolved upon. 

In the march to Tlascala the army came to a high 
battlemented wall twenty feet thick, nine feet high aud 
six miles long, which, reaching from one mountain to 
another, defended one of the approaches to that country. 
This frontier wall was semicircular in one place and over- 
lapped itself, making an indirect and easily-defended en- 
trance. The stones of which this fortification was formed 
were so firmly cemented together that years afterward, 
when the Spaniards wished to level it to the ground — as 
they did everything that could keep alive a spark of 
national pride among the natives — it was found almost 
impossible to pry them asunder ; so that the remains of 
these celebrated walls are to be seen to-day. 

When the Spanish army marched to Tlascala, in Aug- 
ust, 1519, this wall had not a single defender. A little 
way farther on the other side some Indians showed them- 
selves, and fled without any notice of the signals of peace 
which Cortez caused to be made. As it afterward proved, 
these were scouts of a force of a thousand men, who 
came with loud cries of defiance and brandishing their 
weapons. They soon fled, and the Spaniards followed, 
supposing that these, like the other Indians, were terri- 



CEMPOALLA TO TLASCALA. 163 

fied with the guns and the horses. This was their first 
experience with a Mexican ambuscade. They soon found 
themselves in a deep and narrow valley, surrounded by 
a surging mass of warriors, many of them clad in little 
more than paint and feathers, and all yelling as only 
savages can yell. 

Cortez, with forty archers, thirteen horsemen and six 
cannon, pressed through this raging sea of enemies till 
he reached an open plain, where he made a stand and 
fought all day. Much injury was done to the savages, 
but the Spaniards did not lose a man. This would seem 
incredible but for the fact that in all their warfare these 
people risked everything in order to secure prisoners for 
sacrifice and to carry off their own slain and wounded 
from the battlefield. A dozen men would thus throw 
away their own lives in order to gain a single captive, 
and by the time those who thus fell were rescued it is 
easy to see that many more lives were forfeited. 

In one of these Tlascalan battles two of the horses 
were killed. This fact was carefully concealed from the 
enemy, who, until they saw one of these creatures dead, 
supposed they were immortal like the gods. After their 
discovery of the truth' one of these animals was cut up, 
and the pieces were sent to all the Tlascalans as an inspir- 
iting summons to come out and conquer their common 
foe. 

The next day, having received reinforcements from 
his camp, Cortez sallied forth at daybreak to make an 
attack on the neighboring villages, five or six of which 
he burned, took four hundred prisoners, men and women, 
and fought his way back to his camp without loss. 

An after-breakfast battle that same day was still more 
remarkable as described in Spanish history. An immense 



164 ABOUT MEXICO. 

army of Indians — estimated at one hundred and forty- 
nine thousand — attacked the temple where the Spaniards 
were entrenched, forced an entrance and had a hand-to- 
hand fight with the white men. There is no doubt that 
the Spaniards would have been beaten had not the Tlas- 
calan leaders disagreed among themselves. Seven days 
of such hard fighting was necessary to subdue the Tlas- 
calans. 

After the retreat of the natives they sent fifty of their 
braves with white badges to carry provisions to the 
Spanish camp in token of submission. It was noticed 
that these messengers were looking carefully about them, 
as if they were examining the defences of the place. 
The Cempoallans, understanding Indian tactics, warned 
Cortez, for they were sure these men were spies. A 
close cross-examination followed. One after another 
confessed at last that this visit to the camp was only part 
of a plot to surprise the Spaniards that night. One of 
their priests had said that in no other way could they get 
rid of these white men. They were, no doubt, children 
of the sun, and could be reached only when he had with- 
drawn his beams. The whole party had their hands cut 
off, and, thus cruelly maimed, they were sent back to 
Tlascala with the message that by night or by day, 
whenever they came, they would find the Spaniards 
ready to give them battle. 

This punishment — so much worse than death to the 
Tlascalan warrior — struck terror into all hearts. Long 
before the bleeding stumps could be shown to the council 
of Tlascala, Cortez was out upon another raid among the 
Indian villages. Supposing their plot would be success- 
ful, the warriors were hiding in the woods and thickets 
around the camp, and as soon as it was dark they began 



CEMPOALLA TO TLASCALA. 165 

to gather about it in crowds. The Spaniards sallied forth 
and so completely surprised them that they all fled. After 
a little rest the Spaniards again began their work of de- 
vastation, attacking every town around the hill on which 
they were encamped. In view of his success in this 
cowardly warfare, Cortez congratulated himself that 
God had interfered in his behalf, enabling him to 
destroy ten towns and many people. 

During the hottest part of this week of battles in 
Tlascala another party of Aztecs came to the Spanish 
camp to make a formal offer of obedience to the great 
chief in Spain. It was not their intention to give up 
their customs, their government or their religion ; that 
would mean the death of their tribe. The council had 
empowered them to make arrangements with Cortez as 
to the amount and the kind of tribute they should give. 
This point settled, they expected the satisfied strangers 
to leave them in peace. 

The desire which Cortez continued to express to visit 
the country of the envoys perplexed them. Friends 
with the white man they could not be, but they would 
give of their treasures to avoid fighting. If they failed 
to keep their promise, then would it not be time enough 
to come with an army to punish them ? Montezuma's 
message was very plain. "Our country is barren and 
poor/' he said. " You will have to climb rugged moun- 
tains and brave many dangers in order to visit us. Do 
not come." 

These messengers remained in the Spanish camp dur- 
ing a great part of the struggle with the Tlascalans and 
saw what these white men were capable of doing, and 
used their utmost endeavors to hinder the friendship 
which afterward sprang up between them and the Tlas- 



166 



ABOUT MEXICO. 



VERA CRUZ 
GULF OF MEXICO/ 



calans. This want of harmony among the tribes suited 

Cortez exactly. 

But, with all this success, the Spaniards felt themselves 
to be in a desperate situation. Many 
of the men were ready to mutiny and 
leave Cortez to his fate. They were 
far from home, in the heart of an ene- 
my's country ; and should they succeed 
in fighting their way back to their 
base of supplies at Villa Rica, they 
had no vessels to take them back to 
their own country in case the garrison 
had been overpowered by their treach- 
erous neighbors, or, what was quite as 
possible, had given up because so weary 
of the ambitious schemes of their 
leader, whom many of them con- 
sidered little better than a madman. 
But for a timely visit from the Tlas- 
calan chief Xicotencatl, it is likely that 
Cortez might soon have found himself 
without an army. This young man 
came one morning in a cloud of in- 
cense, touching the ground and lift- 
ing his hand to his head. It was 
easy to see that his proud spirit was 
still unbroken, although he acknowl- 
edged that his people for the first 
time submitted to a foe. From fear 
of treachery, the invitation he brought 
to the Spaniards to visit Tlascala was 
not accepted for a week. Other chiefs 

row came to the camp, and their overtures seemed so 



CUERNAVACA C 



CHILPANCINGOC 



ACAPULCO<; 



CEMPOALLA TO TLASCALA. 167 

sincere that the army finally took the line of march for 
Tlascala. 

This city was eighteen miles distant from the camp at 
Tzompach. The country abounded with high, level val- 
leys, which at this time were fertile and well cultivated. 
As the Spaniards approached the city they noted with 
pleasure and admiration the beautiful white houses among 
the trees, the well-tilled land, the luxuriant harvests and 
the signs of thrift everywhere. It is said that the city 
of Tlascala had a market where thirty thousand people 
bought and sold every day. It was well supplied with 
meat, fish, fruits and vegetables, and bath-houses and bar- 
ber-shops and a well-regulated police-force were found 
there. 

The blind old chief, Xicotencatl the elder, anxious to 
know what the white man was like, felt the face of Cor- 
tez and fingered his beard and his armor, finally accept- 
ing him as a friend. Soon after this the poor old man 
embraced the Christian faith, in token of which a great 
cross was erected by his orders in the market-place of 
Tlascala. Scenes similar to those at Cempoalla would 
have been enacted here but for the protestations of 
Father Olmedo, who succeeded — in this instance, at least 
— in persuading Cortez to use sermons rather than swords 
in converting the people. 

It was in Tlascala that Cortez first heard of the long- 
cherished hope of Feathered Serpent's return. These 
hunted and oppressed people were waiting for deliverance 
when the white men came, but, not being prepared as the 
Aztecs were, their sudden appearance on their frontier 
roused all the warlike instincts of the tribe. 

The question of the white man's might once settled, 
the Tlascalans at ouce acknowledged his right to rule 



168 



ABOUT MEXICO. 



over them, and from that time Cortez was very generally 
accepted as one who had come in fulfillment of prophecy. 
The democratic form of government universal through- 
out Mexico was so evident here that Tlascala was never 
called anything but a republic. 




MEXICAN BASKET-SETTERS. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

HO FOR THE CAPITAL! 

THE Aztec chiefs who visited Tlascala were very 
anxious that Cortez should take Cholula ou his 
way to visit Montezuma, if the Aztec council should 
consent that he might come to Mexico at all. They had 
hoped that the Totonacs and their Spanish allies would 
quarrel by the way, that the army would perish with 
hunger and cold as they crossed the bleak mountain- 
walls of their valley, or, should they survive these perils, 
that the Tlascalans would entrap and crush them in some 
of their deep valleys. But all these hopes had proved 
vain. Montezuma and his council were quaking with 
fear over the latest despatches from their envoys. The 
pictures they drew of sleeping villages attacked by a 
ruthless foe, of murder and pillage and fire, were only 
too familiar work with all Aztec reporters, but these 
white men had clothed war with new terrors. March- 
ing in triumph from tribe to tribe, laying the thousands 
of Tobasco under tribute, they had won allies in Cem- 
poalla without a blow. Now even Tlascalan braves, 
after their proud ranks had been beaten down like grass 
in a hailstorm, were bowing under a yoke which all the 
armies of the confederacy had not been able to fasten 
upon them. Were they gods, or were they men like 
themselves? The wisest of their priests now declared 

169 



170 ABOUT MEXICO. 

that it was the will of the gods that the white strangers 
should find their graves in Cholula; to Cholula, then, 
they must be enticed with a hint that the long-delayed 
invitation from the "chief-of-men" to visit Mexico might 
await them there. 

Cholula, eighteen miles from Tlascala, was one of the 
sacred places of Mexico. It was the home of a rich and 
powerful tribe of merchants who had but lately broken 
friendship with the Tlascalans to become the allies of the 
Aztecs. Cortez resolved to pay a visit to the city, and 
fixed a day. This news caused great anxiety among the 
Tlascalans. It was very plainly their duty to accompany 
their allies to Mexico ; it was quite as plain to them that 
the most dangerous road there would be that which should 
take them through Cholula. 

"Do you not see," said the wary old Tlascalans to 
Cortez, "that no Cholulan chief has been to visit you, 
though the city is only eighteen miles away ? Other 
tribes, which live much farther off, have sent their best 
men to seek your friendship ; why have the Cholulans 
been so indifferent?" 

With thanks for this warning, Cortez asked that mes- 
sengers be sent to the Cholulan council to demand an 
explanation. The very cool answer which came to this 
demand provoked the general to send them at once a 
formal summons to come immediately and submit to him 
as the representative of the king of Spain, " the lord of the 
whole earth." If they refused, he said, he would march 
against them and destroy them as rebels. This arrogant 
message had its effect. The next day the Cholulan 
chiefs walked over to the camp to apologize for their 
neglect. To make the scene more impressive to these 
new visitors, Cortez had their speech recorded by a notary 



HO FOR THE CAPITAL! 171 

and required them all to sign it as a fair statement of 
facts. 

" Now," said he, " I am going back with you to Cho- 
lula, to see for myself if you have spoken the truth." 

The Tlascalans again cautioned Cortez not to venture 
too far. No tribe in Mexico was more noted for cunning 
than were the Cholulans. Finding that he was bent on 
going, the whole native army offered to accompany him. 
Cortez allowed the Tlascalans to attend him until he was 
within six miles of Cholula, when he persuaded all but 
six thousand men to return until he was ready to go on 
to Mexico. He said that he was afraid the entrance of 
so large a body of armed Tlascalans would throw T the 
city into a commotion. 

The army of Cortez encamped for the night on the 
banks of a small stream ; the next morning, in great 
numbers, the citizens poured out of Cholula to greet the 
strangers. The Cholulans were by far the best-dressed 
people the Spaniards had yet seen. The chiefs wore 
cloaks over their mantles; these were elegantly woven 
and embroidered, and were generally provided with 
pockets. Hundreds of priests in long black dresses 
and with flowing hair mingled with the crowd, chanting 
solemn temple-hymns and swinging fragrant censers as 
they walked. The women wore flowers in their dark 
hair, and came laden with wreaths to deck the horses, 
which here, as everywhere, created a fever of excite- 
ment. 

The citv of Cholula was situated in a beautiful and 
highly-cultivated plain, well wooded and watered by 
artificial canals. It was venerable with age. Its early 
records were probably lost when Mexican libraries were 
burned by order of the conquerors. Tradition said that it 



172 ABOUT MEXICO. 

had been the home of Feathered Serpent ages before. An 
elegant temple in his honor crowned the great pyramid 
which 'the Aztecs and kindred tribes found there when 
they entered the valley. It was now a great resort for 
pilgrims, who came in multitudes to worship at this 
ancient shrine. 

The spirit of Feathered Serpent had, however, long 
ago died out of his worship. Here^ where he had been 
best known and loved, his altars reeked with human 
blood. It is said that six thousand victims were yearly 
slaughtered in this city alone. 

The wide, clean streets and massive houses were noted 
with great admiration by the army, who now entered the 
city. It contained about twenty thousand houses, and, 
as we have seen, these were always occupied by many 
related families. The population was probably about 
two hundred thousand. 

A large temple with its surrounding courtyard was 
given to Cortez for the accommodation of his men, who, 
with the exception of the Tlascalans, were all quartered 
within the city walls. Provisions were sent to them, 
" although not in a bountiful manner," as Cortez com- 
plained. Every day the fare provided for the army 
grew worse. The Cholulans explained that corn was 
scarce, but those who looked out on the waving fields 
around them concluded that this was an excuse unworthy 
of so wealthy a people. It was noted, also, that the chiefs 
paid very few visits to the Spanish quarters. Their guests 
soon began to compare notes among themselves. Some 
had observed the loaded house-roofs here and there, 
where piles of stone could be hidden behind parapets or 
among the flowering plants with which they were often 
adorned. The watchful Totonacs, who had the liberty 



174 ABOUT MEXICO. 

of the city, noted, as they strolled about, signs of pitfalls 
familiar to an Indian's eye. The Tlascalans very natu- 
rally said, " Did we not tell you so ?" It was Marina, 
however, who actually discovered the plot which many 
had suspected. She had found a friend among the 
women of Cholula, a chieftain's wife, who in her anx- 
iety for Marina's safety warned her to leave the camp 
and take refuge with her. She hinted that the Aztecs 
were at hand, waiting to join the Cholulans in a mas- 
sacre of the Spaniards and their allies, and that women, 
children and valuables were about to be sent out of the 
city. 

Hearing this confirmation of his own fears, Cortez 
requested a meeting of the city council. He told them 
that he saw he had become a burden to them and that 
he had made up his mind to leave Cholula for Mexico 
the next day, and asked that they would furnish him 
with two thousand men to transport his artillery and 
baggage. After some consultation among themselves 
this request was granted. Cortez next sought an inter- 
view with the Aztec embassy and told them of the plot 
he had discovered, charging Montezuma with it. They 
feigned great surprise and declared that neither their 
chief nor the council knew anything about it ; the fault 
lay entirely with the Cholulans. Cortez, although satis- 
fied that they were deceiving him, affected to believe the 
Aztecs. At the same time, he kept them apart from the 
people of the city, lest his plan to take vengeance upon 
the latter should fail of execution. 

That was a sleepless night for the Spanish general; his 
little army seemed to be standing over a magazine. They 
were in the heart of an enemy's country and surrounded 
by friends quite as capable of treachery as were the foes 



HO FOB THE CAPITAL! 175 

he dreaded. There were also many among his own men 
who had no sympathy with his ambitious schemes ; these 
malcontents counseled a retreat to Tlascala. Others found 
fault that he had dealt so mildly with the Indians, and 
still others said that he had been foolhardy and had ruined 
the expedition by leading them into this dangerous place. 
Most of them, however, sided with their general, who 
thought a time had come to strike a blow which should 
for ever put a stop to Indian treachery. The next morn- 
ing Cortez so posted his guns as to command the great 
avenues of the city and stationed a guard of picked men 
at the three entrances to his own quarters. The Tlasca- 
lans had orders to come to his assistance when a signal- 
gun should be fired. 

It was still very early when some of the Cholulan 
chiefs came into the courtyard with the two thousand 
porters they had promised the day before, and these, 
with the Spanish soldiers on duty, soon crowded the 
place. Then, calling aside their leader, Cortez charged 
the Cholulans with the plot he had discovered. Small 
time was allowed for explanation, as the signal to fire 
on the unarmed crowd penned in the enclosure was 
immediately given to those who held the entrances. 
The noise within the courtyard attracted a furious mob 
outside, but they were mowed down by the guns, which 
swept the avenues. As the foremost fell others rushed 
on over the heaps of slain. The Tlascalans, who had 
been eagerly listening for the signal, now came pouring 
into the city and attacked the Cholulans in the rear. By 
the orders of Cortez his allies wore sedge-leaves on their 
heads, to distinguish them from the natives of Cholula 
and Mexico. 

As usual in Mexican warfare, the battle raged most 



176 ABOUT MEXICO. 

fiercely around the temple, and on this awful day the 
great pyramid of Cholula became the centre of the 
storm which broke over the city. Many of the Cho- 
lulans rushed up its steep stairways and took refuge in 
the towers with which it was crowned. From thence 
they hurled stones, but with little effect, on the heads 
of the invaders who pressed up behind them. These 
tall towers, which were of wood, were soon wrapped in 
flames. The city was given up to pillage. The fierce 
Tlascalans captured scores of victims for their altars, 
and led them away to their camp, to be offered up to 
the gods in that feast which would mark their trium- 
phal return to their own valleys. 

Some of the Cholulan chiefs who had escaped implored 
Cortez to shield Cholula from the vengeance of his ter- 
rible allies. However foreign was his conduct from the 
spirit of Him in whose cause he professed to be engaged, 
there was something which led the poor Cholulans to 
trust in the white men rather than in those whose relig- 
ion was one of vengeance. The efforts of Cortez to quell 
the uproar were in time successful. It is said that he 
prevailed on his allies to give up their captives. If this 
be true, they gave the highest proof of their regard for 
his wishes which was possible to a Mexican Indian. All 
the inhabitants but the chiefs who had been shut up 
were driven from the city. Many of the towers and 
houses were burned, and more than three thousand of 
the people had been killed. 

Returning to his quarters, Cortez called his Cholulan 
prisoners to account. With one consent they excused 
themselves and blamed the Aztecs. If he would forgive 
them this time, they promised to be henceforth and for 
ever faithful subjects of the great lord across the sea. 



HO FOR THE CAPITAL! 177 

Two of these chiefs were sent out to invite the people to 
come back to their homes, and, says Cortez, "the next 
day the whole city was filled with men, women and 
children in as much security as if nothing had oc- 
curred." 

Many a fatherless family there was that sad day as 
the women and children who had fled for shelter to the 
mountains came flocking back to their desolate homes. 
Saddest of all were the black-robed priests who had 
escaped the general carnage. Now that the fight was 
over and the dead were buried, the Spanish general 
began his work of cleansing their temples and convert- 
ing their flocks to the new religion. What was left of 
the great teoeallls was turned into a Christian church. 
An immense cross was erected among the smouldering 
ruins, and, but for the wise counsel of Fathers Olmedo 
and Diaz, the war for conquest would have been followed 
by as fierce a crusade for the Church. Yet happy were 
the captives who were waiting their turn to be sacrificed. 
Every door of every cage was opened. If there was 
anything in all that troublous time which satisfied the 
Indians that Feathered Serpent had come again in the 
person of Cortez, it was this act of mercy. How strangely 
were the cruelties of that dark and bloody age in which 
he lived mingled with the fulfillment of that prophecy 
of " liberty to the captive and the opening of the prison 
to them that are bound " ! 

Another embassy from Mexico showed what a fright 
events in Cholula had given to the Aztec council. They 
begged that the white men would not trouble themselves 
to come any farther, as they inhabited a cold and barren 
country and the people were poor ; they would, however, 
supply their visitors with such provision as they could 
12 



178 ABOUT MEXICO. 

spare. It is plain that from first to last the European 
idea of conquest never entered their minds ; they sup- 
posed that Cortez persisted in coming because he was 
not satisfied with the amount of tribute they offered. 
It was not strange, therefore, that the representatives 
of these poverty-stricken tribes should come laden with 
more gifts for the conquerors. They had already poured 
enough of their treasure at the feet of the invaders to 
lure the most homesick man in the camp across the 
mountains, and every time they came the army were fired 
with new courage to seek a place where gold and gems 
were so plentiful. Besides their protest, the council sent 
an explanation of the part they had taken in the Cholula 
affair. They professed sincerely to deplore the treacher- 
ous conduct of their allies in that city, and said that 
their army had been sent to that neighborhood to quell 
some disturbances in two tributary tribes whose lands 
joined those of the Cholulans. 

Cortez wisely forbore to express his doubts of Aztec 
sincerity ; his face was now turned toward Mexico, and 
it was politic to show himself as friendly as possible to- 
ward the authorities there. He soothed the evident fears 
of his visitors, at the same time assuring them that he 
Avas certainly coming to visit their country. 

And yet again the terror-stricken chiefs sent messen- 
gers over the gradually shortened way between their city 
and the Spanish camp. The burden of their story now 
was that Montezuma was anxious that Cortez should 
take a safe road on his inevitable journey. 

This message reached the general on his way to Mex- 
ico. The army had come to a place where the road 
forked. One well-worn footpath was choked with 
trunks of prostrate trees and other rubbish which had 



HO FOB THE CAPITAL/ 179 

recently been put there by order of the Mexican council ; 
the other path was that which had been marked for the 
army as the best and safest for the horses. It is not 
strange that fresh treachery was suspected here. Find- 
ing that the road which the Indians had blocked up was 
the most direct, Cortez ordered his men to clear it of 
stones and of timber. They made short work of this, 
the Tlascalans especially laboring with a w T ill to open a 
path toward the citadel of their lifelong enemies. The 
courage of the Totonacs, however, gave out at the last 
moment; so, thanking them for their fidelity in the time 
of his greatest need, Cortez dismissed them with liberal 
rewards out of the abundance with which Montezuma 
had provided him. 

The army now pressed on and up the highest of the 
great mountain-ranges on which are piled the central 
table-lands of Mexico. Cortez writes of it: "Eight 
leagues from the city of Cholula are two very lofty and 
remarkable mountains.* In the latter part of August 
their summits are covered with snow, and from the high- 
er a volume of smoke arises equal in bulk to a spacious 
house. It ascends above the mountain to the clouds as 
straight as an arrow, and with such force that, although 
a very strong wind is always blowing on the mountain, it 
does not turn the smoke from its course. As I wished to 
ascertain the cause of this phenomenon, as it appeared to 
me, I despatched ten of my companions, with several 
natives of the country for guides, charging them to as- 
cend the mountain and find out the cause of that smoke. 
They went and struggled with all their might to reach 
the summit, but were unable, on account of the great 
quantity of snow which lay on the mountains, the whirl- 

* Popocatapetl and Iztaccihuatl, both snow-clad all the year. 



180 ABOUT MEXICO. 

wind of ashes which swept over it and the insupportable 
cold." 

From one of the dizzy heights on this burning moun- 
tain, Popocatapetl, the explorers saw an Indian trail wind- 
ing down through the stunted shrubbery of a pass at 
their feet which seemed much more direct and easy 
than the one which the army had chosen. Wrapping 
some huge icicles in their blankets, to prove that they 
had actually been in this frigid zone, the party retraced 
their steps. After some conference with their Aztec 
leaders, it was decided to take the route just discovered. 

A storm of rain and sleet was now sweeping wildly 
through the pass. Men and horses were benumbed with 
cold, but they struggled on till nightfall, when they came 
to an inhabited place in Chalco, where the Aztecs pointed 
out a large house newly built by their country-folk for 
the accommodation of the traveling public. In this 
building Cortez and all his men, numbering between four 
and five thousand, found shelter for the night. Abun- 
dance of provision had been stored up here, with firewood 
ready for use. Every lodging-room was soon warmed 
by a blazing fire built on the stone floors. The smoke 
escaped through the open window or door, there being 
no chimneys in all Mexico. 

The army was now approaching the valley by a road 
which crossed its mountain- wall between the two great 
peaks, Popocatapetl and Iztaccihuatl, which rise on the 
south-east like the pillars of some majestic gateway. 
They had not yet reached the highest point in the 
pass when they were met by messengers from the 
Aztec council ; they were charged with one more almost 
despairing message from the council. With childish 
fear and persistence, they begged the Spaniards even 



182 ABOUT MEXICO. 

then, when almost in sight of the city so long the 
goal of their hopes, to turn back. They laid more 
gold at the general's feet, with many rich and costly 
stuffs and an offer of tribute without stint. They 
were kindly received, as before. Cortez assured them 
that he would be very willing to oblige Montezuma by 
turning back, but that he had come by command of his 
king, who would never be satisfied without a full account 
of the country from an eye-witness. After a personal 
interview with Montezuma he would be better able to 
decide how much tribute the Aztecs should pay to his 
master. 



CHAPTER XV. 

MEXICO REACHED AT LAST. 

|~T was on the morning of November 8, 1519, that 
J- from the top of Ilhuatca the army of Cortez saw 
what seemed to their dazzled eyes a landscape in Fairy- 
land. Snow-capped mountains enclosed a valley rich in 
bloom and verdure, with clear lakes laughing through the 
endless summer of a tropical year. In this crystal setting 
rose a capital worthy of any dream of the far-famed At- 
lantis. Miles of wide, clean streets radiating from the 
gates of the colossal temple were lined with massive 
stone edifices having walls of glittering stucco and 
terraced roofs abloom with flowers. These houses were 
the homes of at least three hundred thousand people. 
A fringe of beautiful island-gardens were seen dotting 
the lakes, spacious and well-ordered market-places, canals 
alive with boats, aqueducts whose ruins still attest the 
superior skill of those ancient masons, parks and pleas- 
ure-grounds, and, towering above all, the great pyramidal 
temple, altar-crowned and smoking day and night like 
the lofty peaks which marked the sky-line of the land- 
scape. 

In spite of the cringing terror which Montezuma had 
lately betrayed in his messages to them, the soldiers of 
Cortez, gazing at all this splendor, dreaded to grapple 
with a people whose civilization seemed not only to equal, 

183 



184 ABOUT MEXICO. 

but to exceed, their own. Nothing but his own indomi- 
table courage and towering ambition upheld Cortez as he 
led the little band of his countrymen over these moun- 
tain-walls, whose gates now seemed to close behind him 
and to shut out all hope of rescue should help be needed. 
Looking westward from their lofty perch, the soldiers 
saw the Lake of Chalco, with its island-city and numer- 
ous white-walled hamlets peeping out from embowering 
trees or half hidden amid the luxuriant fields of corn 
and maguey. 

It was daybreak when the army began to descend into 
the Valley of Mexico. They soon reached a well-built 
town on the mountain-side, now called Amaquemeca. 
Here they were kindly received by an Azteo official, 
who kept them two days and supplied them with abun- 
dance of provisions and with the gold which they 
coveted more than all else. Envoys from Mexico re- 
ceived them here, and went with them a march of twelve 
miles to their first resting-place in the valley. This was 
in Ajotzineo, a town built partly on the shelving side of 
the mountain and partly on piles in the lake. The streets 
of this lower part were all canals, and were alive with 
the canoes of market-men bringing provisions into the 
city from suburban gardens, and of others who ministered 
to the needs of a large population. 

The night spent in Ajotzineo was one of great anxiety 
to the vigilant general. Indian friends had informed 
him that an attack might be looked for here, and pointed 
to villagers who came down the mountains or entered by 
the canal, eager to see the strangers. Cortez professed 
to take them all for spies, and, probably intending to 
create a wholesome awe at the outset, ordered the guard 
to shoot fifteen or twenty of these over-curious visitors. 



MEXICO REACHED AT LAST. 185 

"But few of them/' he coolly says, "returned to give 
the information they were sent to obtain." 

At Ajotzineo, as the army were about to leave, they 
were asked to wait, as Cacama, the young chief of Tez- 
cuco, was on his way to give the strangers a formal 
welcome to the valley. He was a young man of about 
twenty-five years of age, erect and proud, as became an 
Indian chief, coming in a splendid litter borne on the 
shoulders of men. As he alighted his attendants began 
to gather the stones which strewed his path, and to sweep 
it clean for his richly-sandaled feet.* As he advanced 
into the presence of the general he bowed to touch the 
earth, and then raised his right hand to his head — 
a Mexican token of respect to a person of high rank 
now common in Oriental lands. Cacama was bearer 
of another chilling message from Montezuma. It was 
Montezuma's earnest wish that the strangers would be 
satisfied to stay away; but if they were still determined 
to visit him, he would receive them at his home, as he 
was too ill to come to meet them. 

After an exchange of presents and of brief speeches 
through Marina as interpreter the Spaniards marched 
out of Ajotzinco to the causeway across Lake Chalco, a 
well-built structure wide enough in some places for 
eight horsemen to ride abreast. The lake was alive 
with canoes, in most of which were sightseers gliding in 
and out from among the chinampas, or floating gardens, 
which lined the causeway. 

About three miles out in Lake Chalco, Cortez spied a 
fortress rising out of the water ; it was well defended with 
towers and capable of holding from one to two thousand 

* It is said that this custom still prevails among the Indians of 
Mexico when a person of consequence is traveling. 



186 



ABOUT MEXICO. 



people. No gates were visible. Access to the interior 
was probably gained by ladders, which were drawn up in 
case of threatened danger. This fortress commanded the 
approaches to a small but beautiful city built wholly in 
the water. As the army passed through this place an 




BSBfe^aSB 



excellent supper was given to the soldiers, with an invi- 
tation to stay all night ; but their Aztec escort advised 
that they should go a few miles farther, to Iztapalapa, 
the home of Montezuma's brother,* on the southern bor- 
der of the salt lake Tezcuco. This city lay within full 
* This city still remains, under its old name. 



MEXICO REACHED AT LAST. 187 

view of Mexico, only six miles distant. From Iztapal- 
apa a broad stone causeway led westward through the 
lake to the island-capital. Very near the city this cause- 
way was intersected by another, which led southward to 
the mainland. At the junction of these two causeways 
was a very strong fort with two high towers, surrounded 
by a double parapetted wall twelve feet high. This was 
Fort Xoloc, afterward so famous in the siege of Mexico. 

After a night's rest in the halls of Iztapalapa the 
army was met by a large party of Aztec chiefs and 
warriors gayly dressed in mantles of embroidered cot- 
ton or costly feather-work, their faces sparkling with 
gems set in wrought gold, which hung from lips, ears 
and noses. As each one came within speaking distance 
he saluted the general by touching the ground and 
then lifting his hand to his head. The long proces- 
sion was an hour passing Cortez with this tedious cere- 
mony. This over, the Spaniards took up their line of 
march into the city. The streets swarmed with an eager 
crowd, which covered the house-roofs and filled every 
doorway and loophole from which a view could be 
obtained. 

As the Spaniards crossed one of the movable wooden 
bridges which spanned the canals of the city, Monte- 
zuma, in a splendid litter and attended by a brilliant 
retinue, came down a broad avenue to meet them. With 
him marched two hundred chiefs in single file, in two 
processions, one on each side of the way and close to the 
houses. When near the strangers, Montezuma alighted 
and came forward supported on the arm of his brother- 
chiefs of Tezcuco and Iztapalapa. Tapestry was spread 
for his richly-sandaled feet, and a canopy gay with 
feathers and glittering with gold and jewels was held 



188 ABOUT MEXICO. 

over his head. Cortez alighted from his horse and ad- 
vanced alone to meet the chieftain whom he had so long 
desired to see. As the representative of his king he 
would have given to Montezuma those brotherly greet- 
ings common among the European sovereigns of that 
day, but the attendant chiefs instantly checked what 
they considered undue familiarity. A glittering collar 
of pearls and crystal which Cortez took from his own 
neck and threw over Montezuma's shoulders was gra- 
ciously accepted, however. 

In the Mexican ceremony of touching the ground 
which followed, Montezuma headed the long procession 
that filed by the Spanish commander. Not an eye 
was lifted from the ground as with measured step and 
great dignity the natives passed the strangers whose 
mighty exploits and mysterious errand to their shores 
had been for months the theme of every tongue. Monte- 
zuma soon returned, and after directing his brother to 
remain with Cortez he at once re-entered his litter and 
was borne away. 

A spacious building in the centre of the city and oppo- 
site the great temple had been assigned to the Spaniards 
for their use during their stay ; here the great chieftain 
awaited his guests. Taking Cortez by the hand, he led 
him into a saloon and seated him on a piece of rich car- 
peting with which the floor was spread, telling him to 
wait until he should return. 

Montezuma soon reappeared accompanied by attend- 
ants laden with many costly and substantial gifts, among 
which, says Cortez, were " five or six thousand pieces of 
cotton cloth very rich and of varied texture and finish." 
The soldiers had all been dismissed to their quarters, and, 
with a few of his officers, Cortez was alone. Taking his 



MEXICO REACHED AT LAST. 189 

seat on another piece of carpet, near his guest, Monte- 
zuma through an interpreter made his first formal speech 
of welcome. He was a man in the prime of life, tall 
and well formed, paler in color than his brethren, with 
a careworn look which was easily explained when we 
remember the harassing anxiety of the past months. 
His beard was thin and his hair was long, black and 
straight, short hair being considered by Mexicans very 
undignified in a person of rank. He wore a large em- 
broidered mantle sprinkled with precious stones, a heav- 
ily-fringed scarf about his loins and sandals with golden 
soles. Several rich plumes of green towered above his 
head. 

Sitting there on the floor beside Cortez, Montezuma 
gave the history of his forefathers, going back to days 
when other white men had come from some far land at 
the east and gained possessions in Anahuac* Their 
chief afterward went back to his own country, but came 
again after many years. Those of his people who had 
remained had intermarried with the natives and built 
towns, but they would not acknowledge him as their 
ruler. The disowned chief went away to the east, prom- 
ising to come again and bring the people into subjection. 

" From what you tell us of your country toward the 
sunrising," said Montezuma, "and of your chief the 
master of the whole earth, who has known of us and 
sent you hither to see us, we believe that he is our nat- 
ural lord, and as such we desire to obey him. We pay 
our tribute to you in his place. You shall rule this land 
for him. All we have is at your disposal. We will not 
deceive you. Since you are in your own country and 

* A name meaning "near the water," applied to the country in- 
cluded between the fourteenth and twenty-first degrees of latitude. 



190 ABOUT MEXICO. 

your own house, rest and refresh yourselves after the 
toils of the journey. I believe that the Totonacs and 
Tlascalans have told you much evil of us, but do not 
believe them. They are our enemies. They have told 
you that my house and my furniture are of gold, that I 
myself am a god. But you see it is not so;" and he 
opened his robes as he spoke. " You see that T am flesh 
and blood like yourselves." 

Once more assuring Cortez with much apparent sin- 
cerity that he was in his own home and, with his army, 
would be bountifully supplied with all that he needed, 
Montezuma concluded his long address and went away. 

The quarters assigned to the army were in one of the 
communal dwellings already described, which, with its 
hundreds of rooms, was large enough to hold them 
all. It was very near the great temple, was two sto- 
ries high in the centre, with many spacious apartments, 
and had loopholed towers along its walls. Some of 
these great rooms were hung with gayly-tinted draperies 
and had inlaid floors and ceilings of smoothly-polished 
wood. But little furniture was required, since bed and 
bedding commonly consisted of a mat wrapped about the 
sleeper, who stretched himself on the stone floor. Other 
beds were canopied and had soft cotton coverlets. 

The Aztecs provided well for their unwelcome guests. 
A hot supper was spread for all, and the men turned in 
for the night after taking every precaution against attack. 
Cannon were planted at each entrance, and the sentinels 
had orders to shoot any man who left the quarters with- 
out permission from the general. It was usual to fire an 
evening-gun, but the first night which the Spaniards spent 
in Mexico was celebrated by the most thunderous discharge 
of artillery it was in their power to make. The whole 



MEXICO REACHED AT LAST. 191 

city, just quieted after the feverish excitement of the day 
was roused again, as though the burning mountain on 
whose hearthstone the city seemed to stand had suddenly 
belched out fire and brimstone in its very streets. 

The next day Cortez and his suite obtained permission 
to visit Montezuma's palace, which was not far away. 
Many questions were asked and answered on both sides 
in this interview. Montezuma showed particular interest 
in the personal rank of his visitors, and soon made him- 
self acquainted with their names and titles. 

It was during these peaceful days of his stay in Mex- 
ico that Cortez made his first effort to teach the Aztecs 
the true faith. He always declared that this was the 
chief object of his visit, and he would never entrust 
it wholly even to the priests who accompanied him. As 
he was always obliged to speak through his interpreter, 
the Aztec girl Marina, we may suppose that her gentle 
manner gave a softer tone to the lecture than the zealous 
general would have wished. How much of the truth 
the newly-converted Marina could communicate to the 
devout and thoughtful chief we cannot say, but we know 
that the story of the cross is thrilling no matter how sim- 
ply it may be told. No one can listen to the fact that 
" God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten 
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, 
but have everlasting life," without hearing the gospel in 
its wondrous fullness. But it is not likely that this 
proud soldier put the meek and lowly Saviour first in 
his word-picture of redemption. It Avas not Jesus with 
his compassion on the multitude, but the cross on which 
he died — not the salvation he purchased for a lost world, 
but the Church he had commissioned to proclaim it — 
that were most prominent in all these discussions. 



192 ABOUT MEXICO. 

Montezuma was willing to admit that the Christians' 
God was good and great and worthy of a place among 
Mexican deities, but a pious horror filled his mind when 
it was suggested that he should set these aside and wor- 
ship one just imported into the country. Had not his 
people gained all their prosperity since they chose Hum- 
ming-Bird for their guide and protector ? For more than 
one hundred years they had marched to victory behind 
his image. On the other hand, if Feathered Serpent 
was about to assert his old supremacy, could they not 
win his favor by giving to the Toltec rites which had 
always been observed in the temple the leading place in 
its ceremonies ? But Cortez insisted on something more 
than this, and Montezuma was sorely perplexed. 

There were two parties not only in the councilas 
such, but among its priestly members. Those who were 
most loyal to the war-god would have marched to the 
coast on the first appearance of the white men and swept 
them out of the country ; the other party would do 
nothing which would offend the hero of the nation's 
dreams should he be hidden under a Spaniard's armor. 
To this latter party Montezuma belonged. It must 
have had considerable strength from the first, or the 
strangers would not have been received by relays of 
tribute-bearers. But it is not probable that, with all 
the superstitious awe with which they were regarded, 
they would have been allowed without resistance to inter- 
fere with the service of the temple. Yet in one of the 
stories with which Cortez seeks to win his monarch's 
favor he pictures himself as so full of missionary zeal 
that the first time he went to the temple with Monte- 
zuma he tore down the war-god and his associates from 
their pedestal and sent them tumbling down the temple- 



MEXICO REACHED AT LAST. 193 

stairs. He afterward cleansed the darkened shrines 
where these idols stood, and, forbidding Montezuma ever 
to pollute them again with human blood, put up in their 
places images of Our Lady and the saints, which, he 
coolly adds, " excited not a little feeling with Monte- 
zuma and the inhabitants. They at first remonstrated, 
declaring that if my proceedings were known through- 
out the country the people would rise against me." Upon 
this, Cortez preached a sermon on the great sin of idol- 
atry. He represents Montezuma as meekly responding 
that no doubt he and his people had fallen into many 
errors, and that Cortez, having so recently come from 
the home of their ancestors at the East, must know more 
of the religion they taught than those could who had 
been so long absent from it, and if he would instruct 
them in these matters and make, them understand the 
true faith they would follow his directions. He also 
says, "Afterward, Montezuma and many of the principal 
citizens remained with me until I had removed the idols, 
purified the chapels and placed the images in them, man- 
ifesting apparent pleasure in the change." 

Cortez had from the beginning given his religion a 
foremost place. However early he might set out, the 
matin-bell was rung and mass was performed before the 
troops left their camp. Their march was marked by the 
crosses they set up on every campground. One of his 
first orders, therefore, on arriving in Mexico was that a 
suitable room should be fitted up in their quarters as a 
chapel. While the carpenters were arranging for an 
altar they found what seemed to be a doorway recently 
plastered up. Visions of hidden treasure filled the 
miuds of those who made short work of opening this 
secret room. Their suspicions proved to be correct: 

13 



194 ABOUT MEXICO. 

they found themselves in a large hall filled with rich 
stuffs, costly ornaments and gold, silver and precious 
stones. " I was a young man when I saw it/' says Ber- 
nal Diaz, " and it seemed to me as if all the treasures 
of the world were in that room." " Hands off!" was a 
hard command in the face of such a treasure, but Cortez 
was able to enforce it. He gave orders that the hole 
should be sealed up, and that for the present no one 
should mention what he knew of Montezuma's secret 
hoards. 



CHAPTER XVI. 
A CAPTIVE CHIEF. 

THE only opportunity which Europeans ever had of 
seeing the Aztecs at home, pursuing the ordinary 
business of life, was during the first five months which 
Cortez and his companions spent in the valley. Although 
a city invaded by the inhabitants of another world — as 
the Spaniards seemed to the Mexicans to be — must have 
been excited by their presence, it is probable that Mexico 
and its people appeared to these visitors much as they had 
been for nearly a hundred years. Possibly it had not been 
so long since it had been beneath the dignity of a chief 
of high rank to walk up stairs. Mexican officials 
appear then to have indulged in a pomp unknown 
before and quite out of keeping with the democratic 
principles of the tribe. An instance of this occurred 
during this first week in Mexico, when Cortez and 
Montezuma were together visiting the great temple. 
They had come to the foot of the first flight of stairs, 
when Montezuma ordered two stout Indian porters to 
pick up his guest and carry him in their arms to the top 
of the building. Cortez resisted, but the chief did not 
yield the point. He considered that Cortez was the rep- 
resentative of the lord of the whole earth, and that as 
such he ought to receive all the honors which Mexico 
could heap upon him. 

195 



196 ABOUT MEXICO. 

"You ought not to walk up stairs," urged the chief; 
"you will be tired." 

" Tut, tut !" exclaimed Cortez ; " a Spaniard is never 
tired ;" and, suiting the action to the word, he sprang up 
the steps, followed by his stalwart soldiers, leaving the 
astonished Montezuma far behind in the arms of his 
carriers. 

The markets were inspected by the Spaniards, who 
drove sharp bargains with the fruit-sellers and the 
mechanics. They visited the parks, the museum, the 
botanical gardens, aviaries and menageries, and fished 
and rowed on lake and canal. Six days thus passed 
pleasantly away without any disturbance between the 
Spaniards and their entertainers. Even the Tlascalans, 
usually so defiant and suspicious, seemed to forget, as 
they walked the streets gazing on the splendors of 
the Aztec capital, the vows taken in infancy never to be 
at peace with their hated neighbors. But such a state of 
things could not be expected to last long. As Cortez 
remarked in his letter to the king about that time, " we 
Spaniards are somewhat troublesome and difficult to 
please." He was thinking, perhaps, of the strain which 
would soon be put upon Montezuma's loyalty to his new 
liege across the sea. Cortez intended to make of Mexico 
a Spanish city, to gain and to keep its treasure, to colo- 
nize the country, to convert the people and to become its 
princely ruler under the king and the pope of Rome. 

Cortez soon decided that his first step must be to get pos- 
session of Montezuma and hold him as a hostage while he 
was teaching the people to submit to their foreign rulers. 
He supposed that the chief was the hereditary sovereign 
of Anahuac, and that while he could hold him he would 
have control of the government. He had the more reason 



A CAPTIVE CHIEF. 197 

to expect success in this daring scheme when he saw what 
power he had already gained over Montezuma through 
his superstitious fears. The plot did not at first meet 
the approval of the Spanish officers — not because they 
felt it to be unjust to their kind and unsuspecting host, 
but because they were less daring than their leader. Yet 
he was not long in persuading them to yield to his will, 
especially when he explained that tidings from the garri- 
son at Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz would furnish him 
with a good pretext for arresting Montezuma and hold- 
ing him prisoner. Bernal Diaz tells us that " they were 
so anxious over this proposition that some of them prayed 
all night about it." 

It seems that since the army had left Vera Cruz a 
tribe living to the north of that place had appealed to 
the garrison for help against Aztec oppression. They 
wished to ally themselves with the Spaniards as the 
Totonacs had done, and they declared that they would 
have sent tribute to Cortez while he was at Villa Rica 
but for fear of a hostile tribe whose lands they would be 
obliged to cross. However, such was the awe inspired 
by the white man that they would dare even to do this 
if the commandant would send them four Spaniards to 
protect them from their enemies on this dangerous jour- 
ney. This request was granted, aud the four soldiers 
imuiediately set out. It was not long before two of 
them came back with a terrible story of Indian cruelty. 
They were the victims of an Aztec plot. The tribe to 
whose assistance they had been sent were still loyal to 
their Aztec masters. By the orders of Quancapopoca, 
the revenue-officer in charge, the four Spaniards had 
been seized, and all would have been killed had not 
two escaped to tell the tale. 



198 ABOUT MEXICO. 

The commandant immediately went with fifty of his 
men and several hundred Indian allies to avenge this 
murder. In the battle which followed, the Spanish com- 
mander and several of his men were killed. The Aztec 
deputy and his forces were, however, completely routed, 
and fled to the mountains. Prisoners were found in the 
city, ready to be sacrificed, who accused the Aztecs of de- 
coying the Spaniards into the clutches of their tribe, and 
said that an attack on Cempoalla was also part of this 
plan. It was arranged that this story should be told by 
Cortez during one of his morning visits to Montezuma. 
Taking with him five of his bravest cavaliers, the Span- 
ish leader arranged that others should drop in as if by 
accident. The rest of the Spaniards were told to take 
their places quietly on the street-corners in the neigh- 
borhood, to check any attempt the people might make 
to rescue their chief. 

Montezuma was in a very cheerful mood that morning, 
and so profuse in his gifts that he offered to marry one 
of his young daughters to Cortez or to one of his men, 
and to give with her some of his most valuable gems. 
Cortez refused the lady promptly unless she would be- 
come a Christian, but pocketed the gold and the jewels, 
since they did not need baptism. Leading the conversa- 
tion toward graver topics, he introduced the story of 
the treacherous dealing on the coast. Cortez affected to 
consider the tidings as highly improbable ; he said he did 
not believe his host was capable of such double dealing. 
Others, however, he said, would not be so charitable ; and 
if Montezuma wished to clear himself, it would be ne- 
cessary to arrest those who had been concerned in the 
murder and punish them as they deserved. Montezuma 
made no objection to this, and immediately gave orders 



A CAPTIVE CHIEF. 199 

that the proper officers should be sent after the deputy, 
who lived nearly two hundred miles from the city of 
Mexico. Cortez expressed his satisfaction with this des- 
patch ; " But," he added, coolly, " my duty to my sover- 
eign will not be accomplished uutil you have given me 
some hostage as a guarantee of your good faith. If you 
will come yourself to my quarters and remain there until 
this affair has been cleared up, I will be satisfied that you 
mean to see that justice is done." The startled Monte- 
zuma earnestly protested against the seeming lack of con- 
fidence in his honor, and offered to provide some one else 
in his place ; but Cortez was firm in his demand, assuring 
the chief that in no sense would he be a prisoner, and 
that he should not only have the services of his own fol- 
lowers, but that all the soldiers would cheerfully obey his 
commands. In his ignorance of the principles of gov- 
ernment among these Indians, Cortez put duty before the 
chief in its strongest light. It was the council which had 
plotted against the Spaniards. Montezuma, as their ex- 
ecutive officer, had given the deputy his orders, and no 
one could be found so suitable as himself to act as their 
hostage until justice could be dealt out to those who had 
only obeyed their despotic commands. 

While Cortez was arguing with Montezuma, Velas- 
quez de Leon became very impatient lest the Indians 
who stood around should become excited and attack 
them. He cried out at last, 

"Why do you waste words on this barbarian? We 
have gone so far that we cannot go back. Seize him ; 
and if the Indians resist, we will plunge our swords into 
their bodies." 

" But finally," says Cortez in his letter to the kiag, 
" he expressed his willingness to go with me, and imme- 



200 ABOUT MEXICO. 

diately gave orders to have the apartments he wished to 
occupy made ready for his use. This being done, many 
nobles came to him stripped of their robes, which they 
carried hanging on their arms, and barefooted, bringing 
a litter, on which, with tears in their eyes, they placed 
him in deep silence ; and in this manner we proceeded 
to the quarters which I occupied." 

Meanwhile, news of this strange visit began to circu^ 
late, and the people might have raised a disturbance had 
not Montezuma quietly bade them disperse. He said 
that he was only going on a visit to his friends and no 
one need be anxious for his safety. 

True to his promise, the soldiers of Cortez served the 
captive chief with great deference. His people came 
freely to see him, and the council held its meetings in 
the Spanish quarters. The chief's spirit had been thor- 
oughly subdued. He was gentle and patient, very grate- 
ful for favors and generous to a fault to his grasping 
jailers. 

The distinguished visitor had time to be fairly settled 
among the Spaniards when courtiers announced the arri- 
val of the deputy Quancapopoca with a large retinue. He 
was brought, as became his rank, in an elegant litter, in 
which he had been carried over the mountains a distance 
of more than one hundred and eighty miles. He was 
immediately delivered to Cortez, who put him and his 
men under a strong guard. At first the whole party 
denied that what they had done was by the order of 
Montezuma, but on further questioning they accused 
him as the author of the plot. The confession, how- 
ever, did not save them from death. Cortez ordered 
them to be taken to one of the large public squares of 
the city, bound to the stake and burned to ashes. Aztec 



A CAPTIVE CHIEF. 201 

laws were so severe, and the death-penalty was so com- 
mon, that this scene made no commotion among the 
crowd who gathered round. 

During the execution Cortez came into his prisoner's 
apartment with a soldier bearing iron fetters, and charged 
Montezuma with the murder of the Spaniards. Monte- 
zuma was completely overawed, as though he had fallen 
into the hands of a being who could read hearts, a divine 
avenger of ancient wrongs committed by the Aztecs. He 
did not resist when the shackles were put on him, but 
expressed his humiliation and anguish of soul in moans 
and tears. 

After the victims had been burnt Cortez ordered the 
chief to be set at liberty. His intention had been to 
crush the spirit of his captive and make him contempti- 
ble in the eyes of his followers. He renewed his efforts 
to soothe Montezuma and make him content with his 
fate. At the same time, he publicly announced that it 
was his wish that the government should be carried on 
as before, with due obedience to the king of Spain as its 
acknowledged head. The Aztecs quietly submitted, sup- 
posing, as usual, that all Cortez asked was the tribute 
which they so often exacted of a conquered tribe. 

So docile had Montezuma become that when Cortez 
made the pretence of offering him his liberty he refused 
the boon, probably fearing that some of his brother-chiefs 
would kill him if he ventured from under the protection 
of the Spanish guns. He only asked to be allowed to 
visit the pleasure-gardens of the city and its neighbor- 
hood. Permission was readily granted, since nothing 
could please Cortez better than to keep his captive in a 
good humor while he fastened the chains more securely. 
None of the gay attendants around Montezuma's splendid 



202 ABOUT MEXICO. 

litter were gayer than the captive chief himself during 
these excursions. He was fond of table-luxuries, and 
one entertainment followed another. The Spaniards 
were boon-companions, and for a while " all went merry 
as a marriage-bell." The geuerous spirit of the chief 
made it easy for him to satisfy his new friends and keep 
Marina busy with long descriptions of the treasures of 
his country. 

The mountains which surrounded Mexico were rich in 
mines of silver and gold, and, as nothing interested the 
Spaniards so much as to hear of these, Montezuma com- 
missioned some of his people to go with them to visit 
these vast mineral depositories. One party went with 
Aztec guides to inspect the mines of Oaxaca, lying about 
two hundred miles to the south. Their road lay along 
that great platform of hills on which were built many 
strongly-fortified towns occupied by a large and thriv- 
ing population, some of whom surpassed the Aztecs in 
their homes and in their luxurious habits. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE AZTECS REBEL. 

THE young Tezcucan chief, Cacania, so keenly re- 
sented the degrading position occupied by the 
" chief-of-men " that he withdrew to his home in Tez- 
cuco and refused to attend the meetings which the 
peace party in the council held in the Spanish quarters. 
By Montezuma's advice, it was resolved to see what could 
be done to bring the young man to terms, as it was found 
that he was heading a conspiracy to unseat Montezuma. 
Tezcuco was eighteen miles from Mexico by canoe, and 
thirty by the lake-shore path. Cacama's home was built 
partly on land and partly on piles in the water, and so 
high above the: water that the canoes could pass under 
and come out on the other side. 

It was arranged that the visit of the council should be 
unexpected. They crossed the lake under cover of dark- 
ness, and, gliding under the dwelling, the whole party 
made an entrance by an unguarded door and surrounded 
the young chief before he realized his danger. He was 
quietly bound hand and foot and lifted into a canoe, 
which as quietly paddled across the lake to Mexico. 
On landing, Cacama was put into a litter and carried to 
Cortez. Other arrests were soon made, and a successor 
chosen by the council was installed in Cacama's place. 

Montezuma's weak behavior during all this showed 

203 



204 



ABOUT MEXICO. 



that lie and his council recognized Cortez as a master. 
Montezuma was soon induced to acknowledge himself 
a vassal of the king of Spain, and to express his desire 
in a public meeting of the chiefs that all his people 
should yield to that monarch the obedience which they 




P"HE VALLEY 
MEXICO 



nad once paid to him. " This," wrote Cortez, " he said 
weeping, with more tears than it became a man to ex- 
hibit." All the chiefs present took the oath of allegiance 
to the Crown of Spain. A Spanish notary wrote an ac- 
count of the whole transaction, which account was sent 
to Charles V. 



THE AZTECS REBEL. 205 

This unconditional surrender of these proud warriors 
was in obedience to what they believed to be a decree of 
the gods — those mysterious beings whose will was the 
sum of Aztec law. The same deep-rooted superstition 
led them to make a further sacrifice : the tribute once 
paid to the council was now to flow into the Spanish 
treasury. Tax-gatherers were sent out in all directions, 
coming back in due time laden with treasures, amount- 
ing to more than six millions of dollars in gold, drawn 
from every place subject to Aztec rule. The secret treas- 
ure-vault into which the Spanish carpenter had blun- 
dered soon after the arrival of the invaders was now 
thrown open, and its contents were divided. After 
one-fifth had been carefully set apart for the king, the 
remainder was distributed among the soldiers. But the 
more they had, the more they wanted. Murmurs of 
dissatisfaction had been heard before ; now they became 
loud and deep. Suspicions were expressed that Cortez 
and his leading officers were getting more than their 
share of the spoils. It is probable that the war of words 
would soon have ended in bloodshed had not trouble arisen 
in a new quarter. 

The army had now been six months in Mexico. The 
Christian worship, which they at all times upheld, had 
been so far performed in their own quarters. But the 
great teocallis near by was a perpetual reminder that, 
while they had succeeded in treading under foot the 
government of Mexico, heathenism was still flourishing. 
Possibly human sacrifices were not offered on the high 
altar — Cortez declares that he put an end to these shortly 
after he came — but the hideous rites to which the Aztecs 
were devoted no doubt went on as before in other parts 
of the city. Soon after Montezuma's formal surrender 



206 ABOUT MEXICO. 

he was informed that the Christians would no longer 
hold. their worship in secret; they must have the use of 
the great temple. They wished to erect a cross on its 
lofty top and in the sight of all Mexico offer adoration 
to the one true God. Cortez writes that he then went 
with his men to the great temple, pulled down the idols 
by force, cleansed the foul and blood-stained shrines and 
mounted the saints therein, administering all the while a 
solemn lecture on the sin of idolatry. To do Cortez 
justice, however, he made quite a scriptural statement 
of his belief when Montezuma threatened him with the 
vengeance of his gods : "I answered through the inter- 
preters that they were deceived in expecting any favor 
from idols, the work of their own hands, and that they 
must learn that there was but one God, the universal 
Lord of all, who had created the heavens and the earth, 
and all things else. He was without beginning and im- 
mortal, and they were bound to adore and believe him 
and no other creature or thing. I said everything I 
could to divert them from their idolatries and draw them 
to a knowledge of our Lord." 

This last sacrifice of principle was too much for the 
Aztecs, who had borne all other innovations with com- 
parative patience. Even the meek-spirited Montezuma 
told Cortez that the people could not be held in check 
much longer ; the white men had better go while they 
could. Cortez received the chief's suggestion very 
quietly, replying that he was quite willing to leave the 
country immediately but for one thing : he could not go 
without ships, and those in which he came were now at 
the bottom of the sea. Others must be built, and of 
course that would take time. Montezuma answered that 
if this was all that hindered the Spaniards from going he 



THE AZTECS REBEL. 207 

would begin shipbuilding immediately. Montezuma gave 
orders that a large force of his own men should go to the 
coast, under the direction of Martin Lopez, a ship-car- 
penter who accompanied Cortez, cut down trees and pro- 
ceed to build a sufficient number of ships to take every 
Spaniard to his own land. He thought that with this 
prospect before them he might be able to keep the people 
quiet a while longer ; if not, he could not answer for the 
consequences. Cortez approved of this plan, and the 
men set out. But the Aztec discontent which made this 
course necessary caused many gloomy forebodings among 
the Spanish soldiers. The strictest watch was kept day 
and night; every man and every horse was ready for 
battle at a moment's notice. 

And now a new trouble arose. Cortez was waiting 
with deep anxiety for news from Spain. His long letter 
to the king had never been answered. He had hoped 
that his glowing descriptions of the new empire he had 
conquered for his master and the rich treasures he prom- 
ised would turn the scale in his favor when his quarrel 
witli Velasquez, the governor of Cuba, should come up 
for settlement. But, so far as he knew, the court had 
taken no notice of his conquest, and he had reason to 
fear that delay was caused by a plot in Cuba to supersede 
or punish him. One messenger after another had been 
sent to the coast for news without avail ; they were keen- 
eyed Indian reporters who at last brought tidings which 
thrilled every heart in the Spanish quarters. The des- 
patches to the council pictured a fleet of eighteen ves- 
sels, eighty horses, nine hundred men, ten cannon and 
about a thousand soldiers. They showed, also, the mes- 
sengers of Cortez imprisoned by these new comers. 

Montezuma, who told the news, was much surprised 



208 ABOUT MEXICO. 

when Cortez received it with every token of joy. The 
soldiers hurrahed, the cannon thundered out a salute in 
a way which thoroughly perplexed the Aztec chief. But 
the fact that the Spaniards were divided among them- 
selves came out in time, in spite of all the efforts which 
Cortez made to hide it. 

Angry at the presumption of Cortez in securing so rich 
a prize for himself, the Cuban governor had sent this 
force to take him prisoner and wrest this new em- 
pire from his hands. Narvaez, the commander of the 
fleet, was appointed to capture and supersede him. He 
landed where Cortez first entered Mexico, and the same 
Indians came flocking to his camp. It was soon seen 
that these white men were no friends of the conquering 
heroes who held Mexico in their iron grip, and the news 
had been discussed in secret meetings of the Aztec coun- 
cil before the Spanish soldiers who were under the same 
roof knew anything of it. 

Hearing about the garrison at Villa Rica, Narvaez 
sent a summons to the commander to surrender. The 
insolent attacks made in the summons on the honor of 
his general so provoked the trusty Sandoval, who had 
charge of the fort, that he refused to allow the messen- 
ger to finish reading it, whereupon the envoy grew very 
angry and threatened them all with the gallows. San- 
doval coolly remarked that if he insisted on reading the 
summons he should have an opportunity to do so to 
Cortez himself, and, turning to some stout Indian por- 
ters, ordered them to seize the envoys, bind them secure- 
ly and carry them like so many packs of merchandise to 
the Spanish general. 

News of this strange party reached Cortez in time for 
him to give them a proper reception. He sent orders to 



THE AZTECS REBEL. 209 

have theni immediately released, set on horseback like 
true Spanish cavaliers, and brought to the city, not in 
the guise of enemies, but in that of welcome friends. 
He kindly apologized for the rudeness of his young cap- 
tain, smoothed over his quarrel with Narvaez and treated 
the envoys with such courtesy that the friendship became 
real and lasting. His efforts to gain the confidence of 
Narvaez were not so successful ; the latter boasted loudly 
that he would arrest Cortez and put Montezuma again at 
the head of his people. 

News of this threat came to Cortez at a time when 
one hundred and twenty of his best men were away in 
the South planting the colony he had planned in more 
peaceful days; he wrote to them to meet him at Cholula. 
Then, with seventy soldiers and unencumbered with his 
cannon, he started for the coast. There were foes with- 
out and foes within the little garrison he left behind him, 
but his greatest fear seemed to be about Montezuma. 
What course would he take when left to himself? Cor- 
tez told the chief he was going to punish a rebel against 
the king of Spain, and exacted a solemn promise that 
during his absence the Aztecs should be as obedient to 
Alvarado, whom he left in command, as they had been 
to himself. Montezuma's friendly spirit showed itself 
by an offer of five thousand Aztec soldiers ; these were 
declined with thanks. With the little force at his dis- 
posal, Cortez made a rapid march over the mountains to 
Cholula, where he found friends waiting impatiently to 
join him. The captain of this colonizing expedition, 
Velasquez de Leon, was a relative of the Cuban governor. 
Narvaez had made a great effort to break the friendship 
between him and Cortez, and his loyalty in such circum- 
stances gave new courage to the anxious general. 

14 



210 ABOUT MEXICO. 

With a hundred and sixty-six men in all, and that 
faith in himself which he seems never to have lost, Cor- 
tez now pushed on to Tlascala, and from thence down 
over the shelving mountains to the lowlands where the 
enemy lay entrenched. There, in a raging storm whose 
noise drowned every other sound, he surprised Narvaez 
at Cempoalla, wounded and captured him, and then set 
himself to the task of winning the hearts of those w T ho 
had crossed the sea to light him, and succeeded in turn- 
ing an army of foes into friends. 

After dismantling the vessels in which they came and 
stowing their sails and rigging at Villa Rica, Cortez was 
proceeding to secure this conquest on the coast, when start- 
ling news came from Mexico. The Aztecs had rebelled. 
The garrison were in a state of siege ; their quarters had 
been undermined and several of his men had been 
killed. The soldiers of Narvaez expected, when they 
came, to go to Mexico to reinstate Montezuma; they 
were now willing to go w T ith Cortez to help put him 
down. 

The troops which had been sent away on expeditions in 
the neighborhood were recalled in hot haste, and, leaving 
his sick and wounded at Cempoalla, Cortez set out. The 
path chosen was not the one he had traveled before. The 
same mountains were to be crossed, but he entered the 
valley near the city of Tezcuco. The country seemed 
to be deserted by its inhabitants. The dark forests of 
cypress and pine through which the road sometimes lay 
could not be more lonely than were some of the hamlets 
he passed. As the troops descended the mountain they 
were met by messengers from the beleaguered garrison. 
Alvarado implored them to hasten to his rescue. 
Montezuma wrote to say .that he had kept his promise 



THE AZTECS REBEL. 211 

faithfully and was not in any way to blame for the 
rebellion. Both seemed hopeful that quiet would be 
restored when Cortez returned. 

Marching around the southern border of Lake Tez- 
cuco, Cortez approached Mexico by the same causeway 
over which he rode in such state the autumn before. 
How changed the scene now ! The silence of death 
brooded over the waters. Scarcely a sign of life was 
visible anywhere till he reached the quarters where 
the Spanish sentinel aloft in the tower called out that 
the commander had come. " They received us," says 
Cortez, " with as great joy as though we had restored 
their lives to them, which they already considered as 
lost." 

It seems that Alvarado, the hot-headed young cavalier 
who had been left in command, had attacked the natives 
during a month of special religious festivals, and that six 
hundred of the flower of Aztec warriors had been butch- 
ered in cold blood. The Spaniards were accused of 
plundering the bodies of the slain. Alvarado excused 
himself to his angry general for this outrage by charg- 
ing the Aztecs with a plot to surprise the garrison and 
murder them all. The story may have had its origin 
with the Tlascalans, who no doubt longed to break the 
friendship between the Spaniards and their own lifelong 
enemies, in order that they might themselves have a 
share in the spoils of war. 

Whatever may have been the occasion of the out- 
break, the long-pent-up hatred of the natives had now 
burst forth with fury. A cry for vengeance rang through 
the city. The people attacked the garrison with mine 
and with fire. Montezuma pleaded with them in vain. 
At last open hostilities ceased, but the markets were closed 



212 ABOUT MEXICO. 

and the water-supply was cut off, in order to starve out 
the Spaniards. The garrison would have perished but 
for a little spring of sweet water which was discovered 
oozing up within the enclosure. Gloomy as was the 
prospect, Cortez sent a messenger the next day to Villa 
Rica to tell of his safe arrival ; but the man had scarcely 
started on his journey ere he returned covered with blood 
and bruises, saying that all the inhabitants were up in 
arms and the bridges were raised to cut off all hope of 
retreat from the Spaniards. 

The Aztecs now came surging up with wild yells 
of defiance. The house-roofs could not be seen for the 
masses of people who covered them and darkened the air 
with arrows and stones. A volley from the guns checked 
but a moment the crowd in the street. The infuriated 
Aztecs tried to scale the walls upon which the guns were 
mounted, but were beaten back. Firebrands were thrown 
among the Tlascalan huts, whose thatched roofs burned 
rapidly ; the flames seized on a wooden parapet on the 
walls, and it was necessary to tear down part of these de- 
fences and protect the breach by the guns. Night put a 
stop to the contest, but the Spaniards were busy till day- 
break making what repairs they could. 

The Aztecs, who slept on the ground, close to the walls, 
were up before the sun and with fresh recruits renewed 
the attack. By a sally from the garrison they were 
driven back to a barricade they had thrown across the 
street. The Spaniards cleared this obstacle and the whole 
length of the street to the dyke, the Indians disputing 
every inch of the way. Every house was a fortress from 
whose roof showers of stones and darts were hurled on 
the Spanish coats of mail in the streets below, where a 
hand-to-hand struggle constantly went on. It was soon 



THE AZTECS REBEL. 213 

necessaiy to fire these dwellings, in order to dislodge the 
assailants. This was slow work, separated as the houses 
were by gardens and canals. Thus the day was spent. 
Though many were killed, the enemy, with unabated 
energy and fierce war-whoops, pursued the retreating 
Spaniards to their citadel, and then lay down again close 
to its walls, to be ready for an onslaught in the morning. 
All their old character had returned. The Spaniards at 
last had a sight of the traditional Aztecs hungry for 
blood and desiring no greater glory than to die a war- 
rior's death. On renewing the attack, if all the men 
who climbed the wall were killed, others pressed eagerly 
forward to take their places. 

It was now resolved to appeal to Montezuma, who sat 
sullenly in his apartment listening to the wild storm out- 
side, raging at times against the very walls. The unhap- 
py chief at last mounted the parapet and consented to 
speak to his people. 

" They will not listen to me now/ 7 he said, sadly, " nor 
to your false promises, Malinche." * 

It was even so. The Aztecs, stung to madness by the 
tame surrender of their chief, refused to hear him. A 
shower of stones was aimed at him, one of which, strik- 
ing him on the temple, brought him senseless to the 
ground. Three days afterward he died. 

This account of Montezuma's death is not believed 
among Mexicans ; they say that with two other hostages 
of note lie was slaughtered by the Spaniards and his dead 
body thrown over the wall. Cortez, who speaks very 
indifferently of this event, says, "I gave his dead body 
to two Indians who were among the prisoners, and they 

* Malinche, from Malintzin, the lord of Medina, is the name by 
which Cortez was always known in Mexico. 



214 ABOUT MEXICO. 

bore it away to his people. What afterward became of 
it I know not." 

An unsuccessful attack made by the Spaniards greatly 
encouraged the Aztecs, who now advanced to the teocallis, 
partly occupied by Christians, who were soon driven out. 
About five hundred of the natives took possession of its 
top, and, laying in a store of provisions and stones, they 
prepared to fight their enemy from the height of this 
building, which overlooked the Spanish quarters. It 
was evident that this fortress must be taken, and the 
cavalry made a charge to clear the way for the infantry ; 
but the horses slipped on the smooth pavement and were 
sent back, and some mail-clad soldiers, with Cortez at 
their head, succeeded in reaching the first flight of steps 
leading to the second terrace. The whole building was 
three hundred feet square at the base, and the path to 
the top went round and round the pyramid by five ter- 
races, a distance of nearly a mile. Each stairway was a 
scene of fearful conflict, those all along each terrace hurl- 
ing down stones on the heads of their assailants, who, pro- 
tected by sharpshooters below, were forcing their way inch 
by inch to the top. Once masters of this commanding 
position, the Spaniards set on fire the wooden towers 
which surmounted the building, tumbling the war-god 
found there down the steep sides of the temple. Many 
Aztecs flung themselves over the edge of the platform in 
sheer despair. A great eifort w 7 as made to push Cortez 
headlong to the terrace below T , but he was stoutly defended 
by his men, forty-five of whom lost their lives in this 
three hours' battle in the air. Not an Aztec escaped. 

The capture of this strong position and the fall of 
their idol struck dismay for a time into the hearts of the 
Aztecs, and Cortez now called for a parley. The chiefs 



THE AZTECS REBEL. 



215 



came to the meeting-place, but the summons to lay down 
their arms met with a calm resistance. They answered 
that they were determined to make an end of the Span- 
iards if they all died in the attempt. 

That night Cortez followed up his advantage by burn- 
ing three hundred houses. The men who were not doing 

A 

j flu. 




Mexican teocalu. (From an old drawing.) 

this were up all night repairing the movable fortresses 
under cover of which they hoped to reach those on the 
house-roofs. Bat on dragging out these clumsy machines 
the next morning it was found impossible to use them. 
The Aztecs had fulfilled their threat of destroying the 
bridges over the canals ; the Spaniards were now obliged 



216 ABOUT MEXICO. 

to fill up these water-ways with stones from the razed 
buildings around them — a work on which they spent two 
days under a galling fire of stones and arrows. After 
much exhausting labor communication was opened again 
with the western causeway, and the cavalry went back 
and forth over a solid road. It was the only path to the 
mainland, the Aztecs having broken up every other dyke. 
But the Spaniards were no longer penned up. 

The Aztecs now called for a truce. They promised, if 
they were forgiven, to raise the blockade and replace the 
bridges. Meanwhile, they requested that their chief 
priest, who had been captured in the storming of the 
temple, should be set at liberty to lead them in their 
negotiations. This was gladly done. 

There seemed now to be some prospect of peace, and 
Cortez, who had scarcely eaten or slept since the outbreak 
began, sat down to take some refreshment, when a mes- 
senger came in hot haste to say that the Aztecs were at- 
tacking the garrison and that several men on guard in 
the street they had cleared had been killed. Cortez 
sprang on his horse and galloped to the spot, followed by 
a few horsemen, who drove the enemy right and left into 
the side-streets. The foot-soldiers were panic-struck and 
did not follow immediately, and by the time they rallied 
a surging; mob of Indians had closed in behind Cortez 
and those who were with him. Canoes loaded with 
warriors swarmed on each side of the causeway, which 
was crowded with Indians. 

Turning to go back, Cortez reached the bridge nearest 
the city, but found that it had been shifted, so that the 
horsemen, pushed from behind, had fallen in the chasm, 
which was far deeper here, out in the lake, than the 
shallow canals he had been filling up. The infantry, amid 



THE AZTECS REBEL. 217 

a storm of stones and darts, were dragging the draw- 
bridge back into position, and Cortez was lost to sight 
for a time. A rumor spread that the general was dead. 
Both he and his horse reappeared, however, but many 
another brave warrior fell that day to rise not again. 
The Aztecs were once more masters. They held four 
bridges, while the Spaniards held four others, on the 
western causeway, nearest the mainland. 

The Spaniards now resolved to leave the city. The 
soldiers of Narvaez had long been clamoring to go to the 
coast, and all were exhausted by ceaseless eiforts by night 
and by day and unnerved by the seemingly hopeless char- 
acter of the struggle with a foe which not only outnum- 
bered them a thousand to one, but which, if every Aztec 
now in the city were slain, could bring a still greater 
force to the attack in a few hours. It was determined to 
fall back on Tlascala, going by the western causeway, 
though it led in a directly opposite direction. But it 
was the shortest path and partly in the possession of the 
Spaniards; once on the mainland, they would make their 
way northward around Lake Tezcuco, and finally due east 
to Tlascala. Cortez gave up his own horse to carry the 
king's treasure, but by far the largest part of what had 
been gained at such a cost was left behind, though a few, 
more greedy than the rest, loaded themselves with spoil. 
A son and two daughters of Montezuma, with several 
leading chiefs — among them Cacama, the fiery young 
chief of Tezcuco — were in the sad company which 
marched out of Mexico that night. The most import- 
ant duty was the management and defence of a pontoon- 
bridge hastily constructed by the general's orders. This 
was intended to span the chasm in the causeway, which 
had been again uncovered and its movable bridge de- 



218 ABOUT MEXICO. 

stroyed. When the entire army had passed over this 
break, the bridge was to be taken up and carried to the 
next, and so on till all the breaks were passed. 

The Spaniards started at midnight, July 1, 1520. 
The night was dark, and a drizzling rain fell on the 
silent company which hurried toward the only path of 
escape. Most of the dwellings in the neighborhood had 
been destroyed, and there were no priestly watchmen in 
the high towers of the temple to give the alarm, as in 
olden times. The Indian sentinels whom they met were 
soon silenced ; the bridge was laid down, and the army 
was half over before the Aztecs took alarm. Then from 
far and near they came after their escaping prey, hurrying 
through the darkness with infuriated yells. The Span- 
iards pressed on till all were safely over the first opening 
in the causeway. Then to lift the bridge and carry it to 
the next ! The men plied their strong pikes in vain ; 
the heavy timbers, sunken in the mud and pressed down 
by the trampling feet of the fugitives, could not be lifted, 
and, stunned and bleeding from the stones showered upon 
them, the Spaniards were forced to abandon the bridge, 
over which the Aztecs now crowded with wild shouts of 
triumph. Pressed by those behind them, attacked by 
enemies on the lake, the front ranks fell into the yawn- 
ing breach, spanned only by a single beam. Some of the 
horses swam over with their riders ; others forded a shal- 
low place. Many were dragged off the causeway and car- 
ried away to be slain on the altars of the war-god. The 
chasm was soon filled with struggling victims or the bodies 
of the dead horses and men, over which those in the rear 
made their way to the last opening. 

In such peril men often forget everything but their 
own safety, but in this terrible night the Christians imi- 




PUEBLO OF NORTHERN MEXICO. 



220 ABOUT MEXICO. 

tated the virtues of their savage foe, who at all hazards 
bore away their dead and wounded from the field. Those 
who had safely passed each breach rushed back to save 
their struggling comrades in the rear, and there was a 
rally which covered the retreat of the shattered remnant 
of the Spanish soldiery. But fresh Aztec forces came 
down like a torrent, and the Christians gave way and 
swam back among the canoes. Alvarado was unhorsed 
and left behind surrounded by Aztecs thirsty for the 
blood of the man who had caused this terrible slaughter. 
Putting his long lance firmly into the wreck, he vaulted 
over the breach at a single leap.* 

Cortez sat down and through the darkness watched 
the shattered army go by. Most of the horses were 
gone; all of the cannon had been left at the second 
bridge. Not a musket remained, nor a man who was 
not wounded. Most of his Tlascalan allies had perished, 
while scores of his brave cavaliers had for ever disap- 
peared beneath the briny waters of Tezcuco or had been 
dragged away to slaughter. But Marina was safe, and 
Aguilar, Montezuma's daughters and Martin Lopez, the 
old shipbuilder, with Alvarado and others of his trusted 
friends, who gathered around their general. It was now 
his turn to weep, and the tears of Cortez were long re- 
membered by those who know the anguish of his soul 
that sad night of the Spanish retreat. At Tacubaya, on 
one of the avenues leading out of the City of Mexico, 
a gnarled old cypress tree enclosed with a railing stands 
almost in the roadway, and marks the spot where Cortez 
stopped to rally his shattered army on the " sad night." 

* The place has always since been known as " Alvarado's Leap ;" 
it is near the western extremity of the Alameda. The lance Alvarado 
carried is also preserved. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

MEXICO SHALL BE CONQUERED! 

FT1HE end of the western causeway, where it joined the 
-L mainland, was still held by the Spaniards. Over 
this, in the darkness and the rain, the fugitives pushed On 
to the city of Tlacopan, where Cortez found them huddled 
together in the great square awaiting his directions. 

" To the open country !" he called out. " Hasten, or 
the Indians will be upon us again I" 

To get away from the terrible house-roofs was the gen- 
eral's first aim. But who knew the way out of the city ? 
Now in the van, and now in the rear, the horsemen kept 
the Indians at bay until the foot-soldiers had gained pos- 
session of a large temple which stood on a hilltop out- 
side Tlacopan.* After some fighting they drove out 
those who held the building, and, safe for the present, 
kindled a blazing fire, dried their wet clothes and dressed 
each other's wounds. 

All that night and until dark the next day the enemy 
gave them no rest. At midnight, guided by a friendly 
Indian, the Spaniards stole out, and, leaving fires burn- 
ing, in order to deceive the natives, they took up their 
line of march for Tlascala. But a sentinel gave the 
alarm, and the Aztecs came rushing out like a swarm of 

* Now called " Montezuma's Hill." Upon it is a church dedicated 
to Our Lady de los Eeraedios. 

221 



222 ABOUT MEXICO. 

angry bees all along the road, pelting them with stones 
and taunting them with their defeat. What with their 
wounds, the horses overloaded with disabled men, the 
entire want of artillery and the ceaseless fighting, this 
first day's march was not over nine miles. Their road 
led north, around several small lakes, and then east 
through a mountainous country which gave the Indians 
every advantage. Huge stones were rolled down from 
the heights on the fleeing host. Sharpshooters hidden be- 
hind rocks and trees let fly their arrows as the Spaniards 
dragged themselves along or strayed into the fields for 
an ear of corn wherewith to appease their hunger. Fam- 
ine might have been added to the other perils of the way 
but for the wild cherry trees, then in fruit, which every- 
where grew in abundance. So many of these hungry 
men were killed that Cortez was obliged to punish strag- 
glers in order to save the remnant of his army from those 
of the relentless enemy who hovered around them like 
birds of prey. 

Two nights and a day were spent in camp, to rest the 
wornout men and horses. During this time crutches 
were made for those who were too lame or too weak to 
walk, so that in case of attack the horses would be free 
for duty. Cortez marched with his men, cheering them 
on with his own unfailing courage and that faith in his 
own mission which he never seemed to lose. Most of 
those with him were veterans who had come with him 
from Cuba. The recruits he gained from Narvaez, being 
in the rear in the flight from Mexico, had borne the brunt 
of the battle, and most of them fell on that " sorrowful 
night." The poor Tlascalans, too, were nearly all gone, 
but those who still lived pushed bravely on with their 
companions in arms, seeming to forget that it was for the 



MEXICO SHALL BE CONQUERED! 223 

sake of the white men that half the houses in Tlascala 
would be in mourning. 

In one of the skirmishes by the way four or five Span- 
iards were badly wounded ; among them was Cortez him- 
self. The death of a horse at this time caused great 
lamentation. The general says, " We derived some con- 
solation from the flesh of this animal, which we ate, not 
leaving even his skin, so great were our necessities," In 
this sorry plight they traveled about fifty miles to reach 
a point only eighteen miles distant, as a bird flies, from 
the City of Mexico. 

About a week after the retreat the troops stood on a 
mountain-ridge from whose height they looked eastward 
over the vast plain of Otumba. It was the place called 
by the early settlers of Mexico Teot-huacan — " the habi- 
tation of the gods." Here were built some of the largest 
and oldest pyramids on this continent, and here the Aztecs, 
coining from their distant home a tribe of wandering sav- 
ages, found one.of the most flourishing Toltec cities. At 
the time when the Spaniards stood on these mountains the 
ruins of this nameless city were strewn over the plain, 
but a pyramid almost as large as the great pyramid of 
Egypt was still standing, crowned with a temple dedi- 
cated to the sun. As the army came to the summit of 
this range they saw what well might strike terror to their 
hearts. Spread before them as far as the eye could reach 
was a mighty host arrayed for battle. The white tunics 
of the common soldiers made the plain look like a field 
of snow. Gay banners held aloft — each the ensign of 
some clan or tribe — showed that the multitude had been 
gathered from many parts of the country. They were 
there to dispute the passage of the Spaniards to Tlascala. 
" We thought it certain that our last hour had come," 



224 ABOUT MEXICO. 

said Cortez, " so great was the force of the enemy, and 
so feeble our own." But after a few inspiriting words 
from their leader the little band pressed forward as it 
were into the very jaws of death. The enemy closed 
about them, attacking them with such violence that the 
two armies mingled, the Tlascalans being so scattered 
among their red-skinned brethren that they were entirely 
lost to sight. The Spaniards defended themselves in little 
groups of four or five; the mail-clad horsemen dashed 
about in the crowd in every direction, trampling the In- 
dians under foot and throwing them into confusion, " they 
being so numerous that they were in each other's way and 
could neither fight nor fly." The battle lasted nearly all 
day, and probably would have ended in the total defeat 
of the Spaniards had not the Indian commander fallen. 
A great panic followed. " After this," says Cortez, " we 
were somewhat relieved, although still suffering from 
hunger, until we reached a small house on the plain, in 
which, with its surrounding fields, we lodged that night." 
From this point could be seen the mountains of Tlascala 
• — " a welcome sight which produced not a little joy in 
our hearts, since we knew it was the land where we were 
going." Yet a sad, uneasy thought must have forced 
itself upon the mind of the general when he recollected 
how few of the brave Tlascalans who a few months be- 
fore marched with him so willingly to Cholula were now 
returning to their homes. How could he be certain of a 
welcome in such circumstances ? 

It was scarcely daybreak when the army set out for 
the desired refuge. The enemy still lingered about in 
such strength and with such shouts and jeers, and some- 
thing harder and sharper than these, that the Spaniards, 
although considering themselves victors, were actually 



MEXICO SHALL BE CONQUERED! 225 

hooted out of the country. Entering Tlascala, the in- 
habitants brought provisions to them, but wanted to be 
well paid in gold. The invaders were no longer con- 
querors who could demand tribute or gods who must be 
obeyed, but a defeated, fleeing army. They stopped three 
days at this place to rest, and while there had a visit from 
some of the leading chiefs of the tribe. Never did noble 
red men better deserve that title — so often given to them 
in scorn— than did these Tlascalan braves. They opened 
their homes to the strangers, carrying the sick and the 
lame in litters to a place of rest and dressing their 
wounds with skill and kindness. The old chief Maxixca 
took Cortez to his own home and gave him a bedstead to 
sleep on, with clean cotton sheets and coverlets— a luxury 
he had not enjoyed for many a night. He lay here for 
days tossing with a burning fever, the result of fatigue 
and exposure after his wound. Many of the soldiers 
died here, and were buried in the campground with a 
rude cross to mark their graves as those of Christian 
men. 

At length the Indians began to mutter over the burden 
of feeding an army of strangers. Many of the soldiers 
became homesick and urged Cortez to hasten back to 
Villa Eica to look after their brave companions there, 
who perhaps might not be able to hold out in case of a 
siege. This Cortez determined not to do. He was even 
then, after all his disasters, forming plans to go back to 
Mexico and recover the prize which had once been in 
his grasp. He dared not trust his Spaniards so near 
the ocean-path to Cuba. 

While Cortez was debating this subject with his men a 
party of Aztec chiefs arrived in Tlascala bringing pres- 
ents, and offering peace to their old enemies if they would 

15 



226 ABOUT MEXICO. 

break friendship with the white men and help to destroy 
them all while disabled and in their power. Some of the 
younger chiefs would have accepted these proposals from 
the Aztecs, but old Maxixca rejected them. His scorn 
and indignation rose to such a pitch that he forgot the 
decorum which always prevails in an Indian council, and 
silenced one of the hot-headed young braves by turning 
him out of doors. 

This generous sympathy of his allies was a great en- 
couragement to Cortez. Shamed by the loyalty of their 
Indian friends, almost all the Spanish soldiers yielded to 
his persuasions to return to Mexico. Their first step was 
to open the highway between that city and the garrison 
at Villa Rica by an attack on the Tepeacas, a tribe who 
held two passes through the mountains, and who had 
murdered a number of Spanish travelers during the 
recent troubles. Their country bordered on Mexico 
and was tributary to it, and their Aztec neighbors were 
even then busy among them stirring up a war with the 
white men. In the battles with these people Cortez took 
hundreds of captives and vast spoil. Men, women and 
children were branded with a hot iron as slaves and 
divided among his own men and his allies, the first of 
many thousands of human beings who were afterward 
thus degraded by the Spaniards. 

It was now very evident that all the Indians of Ana- 
huac were watching the struggle between the Aztecs and 
the Spaniards, ready to take the side of the victor. The 
crushing defeat of the Tepeacas decided many of them ; 
crowds began to flock to the standard of Cortez. The 
star of this bold adventurer was now in the ascendant. 
As an umpire among many warring tribes he settled their 
quarrels to his own advantage, and in a short time built 



MEXICO SHALL BE CONQUERED! 227 

up a great kingdom for Spain between Mexico and the 
Gulf, 

The Aztecs, meanwhile, were busy at home as well as 
abroad. They had selected as " chief-of-men " Guate- 
mozin, an Aztec warrior of the old school ready to die 
rather than to yield an inch to the invaders of his coun- 
try. So soon as the failure of the embassy to the Tlas- 
calans was known the Aztecs began to garrison their fron- 
tier, fortify their island-city, mend their broken dykes, 
replace their bridges and rebuild their temples and 
houses, whose roofs were so important in street-fighting. 
They had learned much by experience. New instru- 
ments of warfare were contrived, in order to defeat the 
horsemen. Spanish swords lost in those bloody battles 
on the causeways were fastened on long poles, the better 
to reach and to cut the horses, which, with the cannon, 
had made the Spaniards almost invincible. 

With the road to Villa Rica clear behind him, Cortez 
now bent all his energies to the reconquest of Mexico. 
He resolved to build thirteen boats in such a way that 
they could be taken apart and carried in pieces over the 
mountains, to be used in the lake in the siege of the 
doomed city. Martin Lopez w r as put in charge of a 
large force of Indian carpenters, and the woods were 
soon ringing with the strokes of Spanish axes. 

Meanwhile, Cortez sent to Cuba for all else he needed 
to carry on the war, but before the men and stores arrived 
he had twice been reinforced by the crew T s of vessels which 
had been sent from that island on the same errand which 
brought Narvaez. In both cases Cortez had the satisfac- 
tion of enlisting under his banner men who had crossed 
the sea to carry him in chains to Spain. Another large 
company, which came to plant a hostile colony, were 



228 ABOUT MEXICO. 

shipwrecked and obliged to put in at Villa Rica for 
repairs. They were soon persuaded by generous treat- 
ment to join Cortez in his expedition against Mexico. 
Thus by patience and kind words he gained one hundred 
and fifty men, twenty horses and an abundance of arms 
and ammunition — all from his avowed enemies. 

While Cortez was at Tepeaca, the scene of his recent 
victories, a messenger came to the camp from Tlascala 
with sad tidings. Maxixca, the old chief who had been 
so true a friend to the white men, lay dying of small-pox 
— a disease of which the Indians had never heard until 
the Europeans came — which was then raging fearfully 
throughout the country. To some of his people this 
affliction was a fresh reason for hatred to the Spaniards, 
but Maxixca saw in them the children of Feathered Ser- 
pent. He believed that they had come in fulfillment of 
ancient prophecy to claim their old possessions and to 
lead him and his people to the one true God. In his 
last hours he sent to Cortez for some one to come and 
teach him how to approach this great Being in whose 
presence he soon might stand. The priest Olmedo came 
in hot haste, and found the dying chief with a crucifix 
before him, to which his eyes were turned • his old idols, 
which his fathers worshiped, had all been given up, and 
he had taken this instead. It was all he had learned of 
Jesus. In an age when the Church so perverted the 
truths of the gospel, though not so much given to the 
worship of the Virgin as afterward, it is good to know 
that the teaching of Olmedo was plain enough to lead 
the anxious soul of Maxixca to his true Saviour, so that 
he died confessing his faith in " the Lamb of God that 
taketh away the sins of the world." Four other Tlas- 
calan chiefs were baptized with him. 



MEXICO SHALL BE CONQUERED! 229 

Bus}' with his preparations, Cortez did not come to 
Tlascala until on his way to Mexico. His army had a 
royal welcome from their old allies, and more than ever 
won their hearts when they saw that every Spanish sol- 
dier wore mourning for Maxixca. Here they were joined 
by a vast horde of Tlascalans more eager than ever to 
fight the Aztecs, and thousands were left behind to bring 
the boats when Martin Lopez and his men had finished 
them. 

Once more the Spanish army climbed the mountain- 
walls of Mexico. There was one path so steep and 
rocky that Cortez thought the Aztecs would not expect 
him to take it, and by this he resolved to go and surprise 
them ; but the next day, as the troops descended toward 
the valley from the bald summit where they had en- 
camped for the night, they saw that trees had been 
freshly cut down, blocking all the way. With great 
difficulty these were cleared from the road, and, coming 
to an open space beyond the forests, Cortez halted until 
his men came up, when, with what seems to have been 
true devotion, he bade them all join him in thanksgivings 
to God for bringing them once more in safety to that spot. 
Before them spread the beautiful Valley of Mexico, with 
its fair cities, its glittering lakes and its hamlets em- 
bosomed in trees. Through the clear air rose columns 
of smoke from a score of signal-fires. Tezcuco, at their 
feet, had given the alarm, and from point to point the 
tidings flew, until every village around the lake knew 
that the dreaded white men were at their gates. The 
Spaniards saw that they had need to hasten to Tezcuco 
before the Indians could have time to rally. 

It was from this great city that Cortez intended to 
attack Mexico. Not being able to reach it before night, 



230 ABOUT MEXICO. 

the army halted at a village about six miles distant, whose 
inhabitants fled at their approach. The next morning, 
December 3-1, 1521, the army entered the almost deserted 
place and took possession of a great lonely dwelling large 
enough, we are told, to have held all the Spaniards pres- 
ent had they been doubled in numbers. As no one was 
seen in the streets, some of the soldiers mounted to the 
top of a tower which afforded a good lookout, and saw 
the people fleeing in every direction, some in canoes on 
the lake, and some on foot toward the mountains. 

While Cortez was fortifying Tezcuco he sought in every 
way to make friends of all the tribes within his reach. 
Most of them professed sorrow for the part they had 
taken in the late outbreak. One tribe posted watch- 
men on the mountains overlooking Mexico, to be ready to 
make an alliance with the Spanish leader so soon as sig- 
nal-smokes should tell that he had come. While these 
people were in camp the messengers of another tribe with 
whom they had long been at war came to Cortez on the 
same errand. Hearing that they were unfriendly to each 
other, Cortez told them that he could have no greater 
satisfaction than would be afforded by his making peace 
between these old enemies. His object was to unite the 
tribes of the valley, in order that they might help him to 
conquer Mexico. After two days in the Spanish camp, 
the visitors went home in high good-humor with each 
other and the white men, and determined to put down 
the Aztecs. 

Among the tribes who had old scores to settle with 
Mexico were the people of Chalco ; their alliance with 
the Spaniards had roused the Aztecs, who now threatened 
to punish them. Their messengers came in haste to ask 
for help, showing on a large white cloth a map on which 



232 ABOUT MEXICO. 

were marked a number of towns about to attack them, 
with the roads the parties would take. A force was sent 
immediately to help these Chalco allies. The wild ravines 
and mountain-fastnesses now resounded with the din of 
war as Cortez made a circuit of the valley, leaving be- 
hind him a track marked by death and ruin. 

Martin Lopez now had his boats all ready; eight 
thousand Tlascalans had been detailed to bring them in 
pieces on their shoulders a distance of fifty-four miles. 
The way was rough and steep, leading over the moun- 
tainous back-bone of the continent. This procession of 
porters was six miles long. Besides these were thousands 
of armed warriors as a guard, and two thousand men 
loaded with provision for the multitude. When the long 
procession came in sight of Tezcuco, Cortez went out to 
meet it. A salute was fired, the drums beat, the bugles 
sounded and the cheers of thousands rent the air. For 
six hours this vast fierce multitude streamed into Tez- 
cuco. Cortez might well tremble over the responsibility 
of leading an army which were not only savages, but 
cannibals with a thirst for Aztec blood which was no 
mere figure of speech. Before the war was over he found 
that it was so much harder to hold back his merciless 
allies than to let them carry on a battle in their ordi- 
nary way that he set them loose to ravage the country 
like fiends in human shape. 

Every day during these weeks of preparation the army 
increased in numbers. The Tezcucans must have come 
back to their beautiful city in crowds, for, cold as they 
were at first, they rallied under a new chief, a grandson 
of Hungry Fox, and came to Cortez fifty thousand 
strong. His first blow was struck at the aqueduct by 
which the City of Mexico was supplied with water. 



MEXICO SHALL BE CONQUERED! 233 

The water was brought across the lake from a spring at 
Chapultepec. After a desperate conflict, the Spaniards 
succeeded in cutting the pipes and tearing down the noble 
structure on which they were laid. Still further to harass 
the Mexicans and to provide their own camp with food, 
the soldiers went out and reaped all the grain-fields with- 
in reach. Two divisions of the army approached Mexico 
by land, while others, commanded by Cortez, came in his 
brigantines. 

From a lofty tower in the city of Tezcuco the Spanish 
leader had watched for the signal-smokes which should 
tell the dwellers in the valley that the siege had begun. 
The Aztec canoes had come out in swarms from every 
town and village around the lake. Iztapalapa had just 
been burned, and its homeless people were all in their 
boats. Getting in his brigantine, Cortez bore down upon 
this fleet, being carried along by a strong wind that was 
sweeping over the water at the time, and without a shot 
from the cannon on their decks hundreds of the smaller 
crafts were crushed like eggshells and the rest chased 
back into the canals which interlaced the City of Mex- 
ico. 

An encampment on the southern causeway leading to 
the city was the end of the first day's work. The In- 
dians made an attack that night, but were quickly re- 
pulsed by the brigantines. The next morning neither 
land nor water could be seen for the multitude that 
poured out of the city, " all howling as though the world 
had come to an end," said Cortez. 

It being seen that the canoes had come from the side 
unprotected by the brigantines, the Indian allies were set 
to work to widen every sluiceway through the dykes, in 
order to allow these large boats to pass. Up to that time 



234 ABOUT MEXICO. 

most of the lake had been fenced off, but in a few day3 
the water-patrol was able to go all around the island-city 
and assist each division of the army. 

As the Aztecs had broken up the bridges over nearly 
every canal in the city, the streets were full of ugly gaps 
which could not be crossed by horse or foot in the daily 
assaults. The friendly Indians now filled these with 
bricks and rubbish, and strict orders were given that no 
advance should be made except over a solid road. But, 
as the Aztecs were busy every night undoing what was 
done by day, the work was repeated again and again. 

Alvarado was the first to forget the warning. Cortez 
saw his command one day flying back in hot haste and 
the enemy, like dogs in full cry, pursuing them. In 
front was a bridgeless canal into which the whole party, 
horse and foot, were driven. In the attempt to save 
them Cortez was dragged off his horse, and would have 
been carried away in a canoe had not several of his men 
sacrificed their own lives to save the life of their general. 
Forty-five Spaniards and a thousand Indians were lost 
in this battle. As the survivors retreated to the great 
square to defend themselves against the yelling throng 
which pressed upon them from every side, faint odors of 
burning incense of a kind only used in sacrifices came 
floating down from a high tower near by. Looking up, 
the Spaniards saw what chilled the life-blood in their 
hearts. Aztec priests were dragging several victims to 
sacrifice, and, from their white skins, they knew them to 
be their own fellow-countrymen. They saw the wretched 
captives made to dance before the idol. 

This victory was celebrated by the Mexicans with wild 
enthusiasm. Drums were beaten and horns were blown. 
Messengers were sent to every old ally, carrying the 



MEXICO SHALL BE CONQUERED ! 235 

heads of Spanish men and horses, with a call for help to 
drive out the invaders by a grand rally of all the tribes. 
Whatever fear the Spaniards felt at this crisis they kept 
to themselves ; their savage allies, who could so soon be 
changed into savage enemies, knew nothing of it. Some 
friendly tribes, being threatened with an attack from the 
Aztecs, sent to ask help, and it was freely given, though 
the Spaniards had to be divided to do it. 

It was now forty-five days since the siege had begun. 
Much of the city was already laid waste. Montezuma's 
house, with its aviaries, museum, magnificent summer- 
houses and lofty corridors, was a mass of smouldering 
ruins. The old Spanish quarters, near by, were also torn 
down, and with the bricks from these and other buildings 
the Tlascalans had reared barracks for the Spaniards and 
themselves on the southern causeway. 

At a council of war to which the allied chiefs were 
summoned it was resolved to begin on the outskirts of 
Mexico and level everything to the dust, filling up the 
canals as the advance was made. The Aztecs saw this 
work begin, and seemed to know that the worst had 
come. They tried to discourage the Tlascalans, who 
pulled down their houses, crying out to them that they 
would have their trouble for nothing, for, whichever side 
conquered, they would have to rebuild the city. But the 
direful work went on. Even Cortez regretted the destruc- 
tion of this beautiful city. Seven-eighths of it were now 
in ruins. The people had been living on roots, the bark 
of trees and rats, without good water and surrounded by 
dead bodies. Famine and pestilence added their ravages 
to the terrible devastation. Women and children wan 
and haggard with disease and hunger wandered about 
the ruins. The allies were charged to let the wretches 



236 ABOUT MEXICO. 

alone, but the Indians knew no pity, and, although for 
three days after they reached the heart of the City of 
Mexico no regular fighting was done, a merciless carnage 
went on. The people and many of the chiefs would have 
yielded, but Guatemozin and his adherents seemed bent 
on making the difference between Montezuma and them- 
selves as striking as possible; Guatemozin would die 
rather than surrender. A captured Aztec chief sent 
back to him to treat for peace was killed, and the mes- 
sage was returned, with a shower of arrows, that " death 
was all they wanted now." 

The truce was concluded, and hostilities began again. 
The story of the dreadful days which followed can never 
be fully told — how these miserable, starving people were 
hunted out of their hiding-places to be shot down in the 
streets or driven into the water. One of the stratagems 
used was to collect into one great basin all the canoes 
that could be found, so that when the houses were at- 
tacked the helpless inmates had no means of escape across 
the canals, but were stabbed and drowned. At last one 
of the brigantines on duty in the lake — a large basin in 
the city — broke through a fleet of canoes which had gath- 
ered there, giving chase to one in which was evidently 
some important personage. The Spaniards were about to 
fire upon the party, when some one signaled to them that 
the " chief-of-men " was there. The master of the brig- 
antines bore down upon them instantly, and Guatemozin, 
with his companions, was soon led into the presence of 
Cortez, who was on one of the housetops near the mar- 
ket-place. " I made him sit down," said the conqueror, 
"and treated him with confidence; but the young man 
put his hand on the poignard I wore at my side and en- 
treated me to kill him, because, since he had done all his 



MEXICO SHALL BE CONQUERED 



237 



duty to himself and his people, he had no otl^er desire 
but death/' 

Thus, on the 13th of August, 1521, ended one of the 
most cruel sieges recorded in history — the first experience 
which the heathen of this New World had with the so- 
called Christians of Europe. 




CHAPTEK XIX. 

THE HEEL OF THE OPPRESSOR. 

A GREAT storm broke over the ruined city the night 
after the surrender of Guatemozin. The rain came 
down in torrents, as though the pitying heavens would 
wash out the awful blood-stains with which men had 
polluted the earth. The streets were deserted by friend 
and by foe. Only the dead were there, lying in silent 
heaps over which brooded the pestilence.* More than 
fifty-five thousand persons are said to have perished 
within the city by sword and by famine in that siege 
of seventy-five days. 

Taking with them the captured chief Guatemozin 
and all the treasure which could be found after a most 
diligent search, the Spaniards withdrew to Cuyoacan, a 
city on the mainland, not far south of Mexico. 

Cortez had not secured peace for himself by the de- 
struction of Mexico. Envious tongues were busy against 
him on both sides of the Atlantic, and he was in constant 
danger of arrest and recall. More than once directions 
were sent to Mexico to hang him without the ceremony 
of a trial. Admiral Columbus, a son of the great dis- 
coverer, was one of those w T ho came from Cuba to put an 
end to what were deemed his treasonable designs. In 

* The remnant of the population, at the request of the conquered 
Guatemozin, went to the neighboring villages until the town could 
be purified and the dead removed (Bernal Diaz). 

238 



THE HEEL OF THE OPPRESSOR. 239 

spite of these untoward circumstances, and before the 
smoke of battle had fairly lifted, Cortez sent out explor- 
ing parties to continue the search for that strait to the 
south seas of which all Europe was dreaming, and with 
less than a thousand of his countrymen, some of whom 
were disloyal at heart, he proceeded to garrison the val- 
ley and the Gulf coast, and to subdue the outlying 
tribes. 

Among those who came to pay their respects to the 
conqueror were the Michoacans, a powerful tribe living 
about two hundred miles west of Mexico. Warned by 
the fate of that city, and afraid, perhaps, that their turn 
might come next, they hastened to become the allies of 
the great lord Cortez claimed to represent. He received 
the embassy, which was headed by the principal chief 
himself, with the honor due to distinguished visitors, and 
by way of entertainment took them in one of his brig- 
antines to view the ruins of the great Aztec capital. 
They gazed on the widespread scene of desolation with 
mute wouder, but seemed much less impressed by that 
than by the running of the horses and the noise made by 
the black monsters that vomited fire. 

These people told of a great sea lying near their coun- 
try, toward the sunset. About the same time Cortez 
heard of another large body of water, stretching far to 
the south. In the geographies of those days all unknown 
lands were counted as islands, and, now that it was set- 
tled that the world was round, men were continually 
looking for a passage between these to "other islands, 
rich in gold, pearls, precious stones and spiceries."* The 
report of these Indian visitors therefore received imme- 
diate attention. Explorers were sent west and south 

* Cortez. 



240 ABOUT MEXICO. 

with strict orders not to return without discovering and 
taking possession of these seas by setting up crosses along 
their shores. 

Meanwhile, it was necessary to plant a colony some- 
where in the valley to secure to Spain possessions which 
had been won at such a cost. There seemed to be no bet- 
ter site for the city which Cortez proposed to found than 
the island on which Mexico once stood, and no better 
men to superintend its rebuilding and repeopling than 
two Aztec chiefs, one of whom was Montezuma's son 
and the other his associate in office, the cihua-coatl, or 
" snake-woman," as the second chief was called. Al- 
though he was head of the tribe while his partner was in 
captivity, Tihucoa's name does not appear in history until 
the great tragedy was over, and then only as a taskmaster 
over his conquered people and as the traitor who finally 
caused the death of Guatemozin. So vigorously did the 
work go on that in October, 1524, when Cortez wrote 
his last letter to Charles V., the new city already con- 
tained thirty thousand householders, a fine market sup- 
plied with all the old-time luxuries, beautiful gardens 
that fringed the lake-shore and dotted its broad expanse, 
while Christian churches lifted their towers heavenward 
over the ruined shrines of this land, still overshadowed 
with heathenism. The great stone of sacrifice, the cal- 
endar, the war-god, and numerous other relics of the 
former life of these people which could not be destroyed, 
Avere buried in a deep pit, according to the order of the 
conqueror; these were all dug out again in 1790. A 
large convent replaced the famous House of Birds, and 
on the site of Montezuma's residence arose the splendid 
palace of the viceroys of " New Spain of the ocean sea." 
Cortez had a fancy for long, high-sounding names, and 



i-3 

H 
a 

c 
fed 

ft 

► 

O 

H 

ft 
O 

a 

► 
f 

o 
ft 

H 
ft 

ft 




242 ABOUT MEXICO. 

it was his request that the country he had conquered 
should bear this title. Strange to say, however, though 
Mexico rose from its ashes a Spanish city, with so many 
radical changes, the conquerors never seem to have 
thought of giving this place a Christian name. It was 
at first Tenochtitlan — " Stone-Cactus Place f now, as 
though to show that it was as truly heathen as ever, it 
was called Mexitli, after an Aztec god. 

Mexico was now more of a fortress than ever, though 
it did not cover so much ground as formerly it had done. 
All the canals were filled up and the streets laid out wide 
and straight. Day and night the work went on until it 
was completed. Like the children of Israel who built 
the cities of old Egypt, the lives of these Aztec masons 
and carpenters were " made bitter with hard bondage, in 
mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the 
field." On the foundations of the old teocallis rose a 
great cathedral. The Aztecs had boasted that human 
blood and precious stones had been freely mingled in the 
mortar of their temple ; the building which replaced it, 
though dedicated to the Prince of peace, cost them far 
more in human life and treasure. 

In time nearly all the country known at the begin- 
ning of the sixteenth century as Mexico was conquered 
by Spain. A few wandering tribes at the North contin- 
ued to defy all attempts at subjugation, and still lived by 
the chase. Village Indians — who, as far as possible, 
have maintained their old laws and customs, in spite of 
foreign intruders — have always boasted with a laudable 
pride that no Spanish, or even Aztec, banner ever floated 
over their lands. These are tilled in common now as 
then. These people still speak their old dialects and 
refuse to learn any other, communication for the purposes 



THE HEEL OF THE OPPRESSOR. 243 

of trade being kept up by a few men who act as inter- 
preters and attend to the business of the tribe. In re- 
cesses among the mountains far to the south are tribes 
which have held entirely aloof from white men, whose 
very existence is known only by hearsay. Many others 
that are better known have been so reduced in numbers 
and so broken by oppression that scarcely a trace of their 
old character remains. 

Some who took the wrong, or unfortunate, side in the 
struggle constantly going on between Cortez and his 
Spanish enemies were punished with fire and sword. 
Many a chief was hung from his own roof tree or 
burned at the stake, while thousands of the common 
people were branded as slaves and sold to the highest 
bidder, to wear out their lives in cruel bondage. 

Poor GuatemoziD, the young Aztec " chief-of-men," 
lost his life in these contentions. It was in 1525. Cor- 
tez had gone to Honduras, a journey of fifteen hundred 
miles, to put down D'Olid, one of his captains, who had 
been sent to the south on a colonizing expedition and un- 
dertook to set up for himself. Besides his Spaniards, 
horse and foot, Cortez had three thousand Mexican troops. 
The wild mountain-ravines echoed with the strains of mar- 
tial music as they passed along, while buffoons in gay 
attire cheered the way with jest and song. But during 
this almost kingly progress through the land food and 
provender gave out, and the whole army were in great 
peril from famine. For days they subsisted on grass and 
the roots of an herb which burned the lips and the 
tongue. The poor fool who rode near Cortez was the 
first who died. The Indian guides lost the way, and the 
whole party would have perished in those pathless forests 
but for the mariner's compass which Cortez always car- 



244 ABOUT MEXICO. 

ried. The army became so disorganized that each man 
foraged for himself. Sandoval, the faithful friend of 
Cortez, was obliged to go out at night to procure food for 
him, for his rations were stolen constantly. It is said of 
the Mexicans that from the chiefs down they fared much 
better, as they kidnapped unwary natives in villages 
through which they passed and had some cannibal feasts 
until Cortez heard of it and put an end to their orgies. 

In this state of affairs the Aztec chief who rebuilt 
Mexico came to Cortez with the story of an Aztec plot 
to reinstate Guatemozin in his chieftainship. At no 
time since the conquest had there been a better opportunity 
for revolt; the city was weakly guarded and the garrison 
was a house divided against itself. The informer showed 
Cortez pictures of those who led the conspirators ; they 
were Guatemozin and his friend, the chief of Tlacopan. 
They were both seized immediately and examined sepa- 
rately, and after a short trial, with dubious proofs of 
guilt, both were hung by the roadside on a great ceyba 
tree. The people, seeing Cortez in his tent studying his 
chart and compass, concluded that he was a magician, and 
that the trembling little needle he so anxiously watched 
had been telling him the secrets of hearts. Some of 
them, afraid for their own lives, came to him and begged 
him to look again at the strange oracle and ask it if they 
were not true friends to the white man. It is needless to 
say that Cortez improved this, as he did all other oppor- 
tunities, to establish his character of a teule, or god.* 

The subjugation of the tribes of Mexico was not ac- 
complished until the Spaniards had swept the land as 
with a besom of destruction. Cities were depopulated 

* The Spaniards were known as teules, or gods, long after they were 
found to be like other men. 



THE HEEL OF THE OPPRESSOR. 245 

and leveled to the earth, the mountains denuded of their 
forests, streams and lakes dried up, the farms laid waste, 
and those of the people who escaped the awful havoc of 
war were driven into hopeless slavery. The bishop of 
Chiapas affirms that fifteen million out of the thirty mil- 
lion found by the Spaniards on entering the country had 
been cut off before the land had been quieted in that 
mental and moral death which followed the conquest. 
Well may historians call this " one unspeakable outrage, 
one unutterable ruin " ! 

The priests who accompanied the army of zealots 
which overran the country seem from the first to have 
counseled more gentle measures, but all alike were bent 
on forcing the conquered race into obedience to the pope. 
They had come to wipe out paganism and drive the peo- 
ple like a flock of frightened sheep into the fold of the 
true Church. When they saw the picture-writings of 
the Aztecs and the sculptured walls of their temples, it 
was decided that all such heathenish rubbish must be put 
out of sight as soon as possible. Thousands of carefully- 
written books were therefore piled up and burned, and as 
far as possible everything which reminded the people of 
their ancient faith was destroyed, unless, as was often the 
case, it could be furbished up and adopted by the Church. 
Without waiting to understand enough of the language 
to communicate an idea in words, they baptized the na- 
tives in crowds. One priest boasted that he had converted 
and brought into the Church from ten to fifteen thousand 
in a single day. So superficial was the work that, 
although Mexico became one of the most faithful and 
intolerant upholders of Rome, so much of the ancient 
idolatry remained that to this day intelligent defenders 
of the papacy visiting Mexico blush for shame at what 



246 ABOUT MEXICO. 

they may well call a paganized Christianity. In many 
cases the same idol has served for both forms of idolatry 
when reclothed, renamed and well sprinkled with holy 
water. Tomantzin — " Our Mother " — was once wor- 
shiped by crowds in the very spot now sacred to the Vir- 
gin of Guadalupe, the tutelar divinity of Mexico. 

The land must have been full of idols. The Francis- 
cans boasted that in eight years they had broken twenty 
thousand images. On a high mountain in Miztec one 
of the Dominican friars found a little idol called " the 
Heart of the People." It was a beautiful emerald four 
inches long and two wide, engraved with snakes and 
other sacred devices. Knowing its great value as a gem, 
a Spanish cavalier tried to buy it, but the pious friar was 
horror-struck at the idea, and, proceeding with what he 
considered his duty, he ground it to powder and strewed 
it to the winds. 

In this respect the early Fathers were a great contrast 
to those who followed them. One of the first acts of 
Cortez as governor-general had been to propose a plan 
for the conversion of the Indians, and one of its prime 
requisites, in his opinion, was that no prelate or bishop 
should be sent to New Spain, since the first object of such 
officials would be to make money. " They will use," he 
says, "the estates of the Church in pageants and other 
foolish matters, and bestow rights of inheritance on their 
sons or relatives." He told the king very plainly that 
if the Indians had an opportunity to compare the honest, 
moral lives of their old priests with those led by the cor- 
rupt dignitaries of Rome it would be worse for the latter : 
" If they, the pagans, understood that these were the 
ministers of God who were indulging in vicious habits, 
as is the case in these days in Spain, it would lead them 



THE HEEL OF THE OPPRESSOR. 247 

to undervalue our faith and treat it with derision, and all 
the preachers in the world would not be able to counter- 
act the mischief arising from this source." 

On May 13, 1524, there landed at San Juan de Ulua 
a company of twelve Franciscan friars, sent to Mexico, 
in response to the original call of Cortez, for the purpose 
of converting the Indians. These monks fully realized 
what was asked of them, and became not only the spir- 
itual advisers, but actually the material protectors, of 
the Indians. They taught the Indians to work. Among 
the many missions established by them amidst these peo- 
ple, those of the west coast were both financially and spir- 
itually the most successful. The first white settlers in 
California were Franciscan monks. They found there 
a less Avarlike and energetic people than those in the 
Valley of Mexico, and trained them to habits of indus- 
try and devotion. Substantial churches and mission- 
buildings soon arose in the wilderness, about which 
clustered the little adobe villages surrounded by fields 
and orchards. The only roads for many years to be 
found in the country were those between these stations. 
Many of these missions became very rich. At the be- 
ginning of the last century the Franciscan monks of 
California owned immense tracts of land and carried on 
a thriving business with Russian merchants from the far 
North-west in wine and wool, hides aud tallow. In this 
way Spain was able to claim as her own the whole Pacific 
coast as far as Puget Sound.. The Indian converts were 
patient, docile children whose prayers to the Virgin and 
the saints led their hearts into ways so old and familiar 
that but little violence was done to their feelings in the 
change from one religion to the other. When from any 
failure or from removal these Indians were left to them- 



248 ABOUT MEXICO. 

selves, they relapsed into barbarism. They held their 
lands again in common and as far as possible kept up 
their old tribal organization. These divisions were 
known even among those who had been under the heel 
of the oppressor for generations. They often elected a 
chief whose only privilege was to serve as a taskmaster 
over his people. A hardy and industrious race, they 
cling tenaciously to the homes and the habits of their 
forefathers in spite of the most stringent laws, by which 
their masters strove to mingle the tribes. Thirty-five of 
these tribes are known to have survived the conquest. 
Many of them inhabit the same villages, speak the same 
dialect, work at the same business and with the same rude 
tools as those which their ancestors used generations ago. 
Loyal as they may be to the corrupt religion which was 
forced upon them, many in remote and isolated places are 
looking for Montezuma to return, confusing him, no 
doubt, with Feathered Serpent, in whom their fathers 
so vainly trusted. The revolt of the Zapotecs in 1550 
was due to this hope. We are told that the sacred fire 
which once glowed on Aztec altars is still kept burning 
in hidden caves, and of Indian boys whose solemn chants 
morning and evening toward the rising and setting sun 
tell of heathen superstitions which have survived three 
hundred years of Romish teaching.* This last beautiful 

* In 1847, Brantz Mayer writes: "While at the hacienda of Ta- 
mise, near Cuernavaca, he pointed out to us the site of an Indian 
village at the distance of three leagues, the inhabitants of which are 
almost in their native state. They do not permit the visits of white 
men, and, numbering more than three thousand, they come out in 
delegations to work on the haciendas, being governed at home by 
their own magistrates, and employ a Catholic priest to shrive them 
of their sins once a year ; they earn their wages, make their own 
clothes of cotton and skins, and raise corn and beans for food." 




CHURCH OF TEOTIHUACAN, MEXICO. 



250 ABOUT MEXICO. 

custom was adopted by the Church of Rome, aud might 
have carried many Indian hearts heavenward in true de- 
votion had the hymns or the prayers been written in a 
language the natives could understand. It is through 
these simple, ignorant people that the Church party has 
always maintained its hold on Mexico. The Indians 
seem to be grateful for the protection given to them 
in earlier years by those priests who had devoted their 
lives for the good of the children of the soil. 

The frightful oppressions of the Indians by the colo- 
nists were for many years combated by the monks. 
When Charles V. changed the form of colonial gov- 
ernment to that of an audiencia, the president and four 
councilmen who composed the body seem to have vied 
with each other in keeping up the pomp and ceremony 
of court-life, and the labors of the Indians in building 
their palaces and in bringing provisions for their luxu- 
rious establishments were greatly increased. In six or 
eight months one hundred and thirteen persons, men and 
women, died from exposure in carrying burdens from dis- 
tant mines and fields and gardens through the snow and 
rain of those bleak uplands. The monks, who always 
sided with the Indians, thundered from the pulpit and 
the confessional, aiming especially at the auditors, whose 
sumptuous works were carried on at such a sacrifice of 
human life. The audiencia, in revenge for some of. the 
plain sermons of the first bishop of Mexico, cut off his 
support. He retaliated by excommunicating the audi- 
encia. In 1530 a great junta, or council, was held in 
Spain, to consider the important questions arising out 
of the relations between the colonists and their serfs; for 
such they truly were. The decision was unanimously in 
favor of the Indians. 



THE HEEL OF THE OPPRESSOR. 251 

Of the priests, none were more faithful friends to the 
natives than was the philanthropist Las Casas. While a 
young man residing in Cuba his attention had been called 
to their wrongs. His Dominican confessor had decided 
that his sins could not be forgiven while he owned Indians. 
With his eyes thus opened, Las Casas began to preach 
against his brother-slaveholders. He finally saw it to 
be his duty to go to Spain to plead the cause of the In- 
dians with the king himself. It seems that while Charles 
V. was yet a boy his heart had been touched by the stories 
related to him by Las Casas, who had been to America 
with Columbus in 1494. Las Casas determined to use 
his influence with the king in behalf of the oppressed peo- 
ple of Cuba and other islands, who were melting away. 

Las Casas became a priest in order to preach the gos- 
pel to the Indians and humanity to their oppressors. 
He had a friend in Cuba to whom he applied for money 
to enable him to carry out this noble aim. To his sur- 
prise, he found that the eyes of his friend, Reuteria, had 
also been opened, and that he was preparing at that very 
time to go to Spain on the same errand. After confer- 
ring together, however, it was decided that, since they 
were both so poor, Reuteria should mortgage his farm 
and Las Casas should sell his horse, and that all they 
both could raise should be spent by the latter in a trip to 
Spain. While there he gained new light on the avarice 
and tyranny of the Spanish colonists. The facts were 
so disheartening that he was afraid to speak all his mind 
to the all-powerful Cardinal Ximenes, with whom he 
consulted about the wrongs of the Indians. But one day 
he asked, 

" With what justice can these things be done, whether 
the Indians are free or not?" 



252 ABOUT MEXICO. 

Ximenes exclaimed, 

" With no justice ! What ! are they not free? Who 
doubts about their being free ?" 

It was while such discussious as these were going on 
that the planters bethought themselves that the negroes 
of Africa might replace the Indians. While Charles V. 
was in Germany he was besieged with petitions to grant 
licenses for the importation of Africans to till the depop- 
ulated soil of the West Indies and of other Spanish colo- 
nies. Ximenes protested, and twelve times during fifty 
years Las Casas crossed the sea on his philanthropic 
errands, but in vain. 

One of the earliest effects of the discovery of America 
was a division of its lands (repartimientos) among the set- 
tlers from the Old World. In 1497 a patent was granted 
to Christopher Columbus authorizing him to divide the 
newly-discovered countries among his followers. It was 
his decision that " the natives should till the soil for the 
benefit of those who hold them." Little did this good 
man think of the inheritance of shame and sorrow he 
was preparing for his countrymen and their victims in 
lands he had never seen. 

At first the Spaniards had only a life-estate in the 
serfs ; next, the owner had the right to the service of a 
man and his son, and finally the natives were doomed to 
unending servitude. They could be taken from place to 
place at their master's pleasure, with such wages as he 
chose to give or with none at all. These removals were 
the sorest trial the village Indians could endure. To be 
torn from the lands their forefathers had tilled, to work in 
mines for life, and to be compelled to labor on farms when 
they had been trained at the loom, were alike irksome to 
these creatures of custom. Not only toil, but tribute, 



THE HEEL OF THE OPPBESSOR. 253 

was exacted. Every male over fourteen was obliged at 
appointed times to bring a little packet or quill of gold- 
dust if he lived near to or Avorked in a mine ; or if he had 
no gold, he paid tribute in cotton. 

After several experiments, the government of Mexico 
and of other Spanish colonies in the West was confided to 
the " council of the Indies," a body of men appointed by 
the king and nominally responsible to him. This council 
was represented in New Spain by a viceroy, who, with 
the old audiencia for his counselors, was absolute enough 
for a real monarch. There had been so much difficulty 
in ruling through persons of inferior rank, like the 
audiencia, that it was decided to put a man over them 
with " that divinity which doth hedge a king," that he 
might stand between the natives and the crowd of money- 
making adventurers Avho were flocking to America. Of 
the sixty-four viceroys who reigned in Mexico, several 
seem to have befriended the downtrodden race over 
whom they were placed. The second of these rulers 
declared that "justice to the Indians was of more im- 
portance than all the mines in the world, and that the 
revenues they yielded to the Spanish Crown were not of 
such a character that all human and divine laws were 
to be sacrificed in order to obtain them." 

During the reign of Mendoza, the first viceroy, the 
Indians, grown desperate with their manifold wrongs, 
rose in their first formidable rebellion since the death of 
Guatemozin. The old names of Tlascala, Cholula and 
Tezcuco gleam out as of old in the records of these 
stormy days, although in the guise of serfs one scarcely 
recognizes the proud warriors of twenty years before. 
Up to that time their chiefs still wore their old insignia 
of rank and tied their hair on the tops of their heads 



254 ABOUT MEXICO. 

with red leather. Those who had been loyal to Spain 
were now rewarded by permission from the viceroy to 
ride on horseback and carry a gun when they followed 
him to put down the insurrection. The gachupines* 
were very angry about this conciliatory policy of the 
wise Mendoza ; but when the news reached Spain, the 
king, who always had in his heart a warm corner for the 
Indians, was so much interested that he issued an edict 
of emancipation, with full authority to the messenger 
who took it to Mexico to enforce all its commands. 

If putting the Indians on horseback was an affront 
to the Spanish pride, the planters were much more deep- 
ly moved when their pockets were touched. After a 
vain attempt to resist the new law, a delegation of Cre- 
oles was sent to Spain to protest against this sentimental 
interference with their human machines. The good Las 
Casas, then bishop of Chiapas, tried his hand at mend- 
ing matters, but he was too true a friend of the red men 
to be tolerated, and he was ever afterward regarded by 
the planters as their enemy. 

Unfortunately for the Indians, the delegation reached 
Spain at a time when Charles V. was in great trouble. 
He was always in want of money to carry on his numer- 
ous wars, but never had he been in such need as now. 
The Turks, who for a long time had been thundering at 
the eastern gate of his empire, now boldly entered and 
snatched away the crown of Hungary, which he must 
win back at any cost. His quarrels with his neighbor 
across the Pyrenees, Francis I., were now at their height, 
and both these potentates were ransacking Europe for 
allies and borrowing money wherever they could get it. 
For political reasons, Charles was just then very friendly 
* The Mexican name for natives of Spain. 



THE HEEL OF THE OPPRESSOR. 255 

with the Protestants, and had thus offended the pope, 
who would be sure, unless pacified, to retaliate by stir- 
ring up trouble in other quarters. Besides all this, the 
ravages of pirates in the Mediterranean called for a strong 
hand to punish these old offenders. In doing this a great 
Spanish fleet was lost in one of the most awful storms 
which ever swept the seas, and hundreds of ships were 
wrecked, Avith the loss of eight thousand men. It will 
easily be seen that with all these troubles the emperor 
could not afford to quarrel just then with his colonists. 
Favored by these circumstances, and by means of brib- 
ery, the Mexican delegation carried their point and went 
home rejoicing, to rivet still tighter those chains which 
bound the Indians of New Spain to a life of hopeless 
slavery. Although a few of the principal Indian fam- 
ilies remained who by law were entitled to the privileges 
enjoyed by the Spanish nobility, they were a conquered 
people and lived in bondage. It was to the interest of 
their conquerors that they should be kept in ignorance, 
counted as minors, shut up in villages by themselves and 
forbidden to engage in commerce. 

The natural taste of the Indians for engraving, em- 
broidery, feather- and mosaic-work, modeling in clay, and 
other like occupations requiring artistic skill, met with 
great disapproval from the Council in Spain. They were 
forbidden to engage in anything but the coarsest work, 
lest they should become discontented or unfit for menial 
service. This oppression was at last so evident to the 
world that the pope, with all his jealousy of Charles V., 
declared that " the Indians are really and truly men cap- 
able of receiving the Christian faith. " 

But those original proprietors of the soil were often 
sullen and distrustful, only held in check by the strong 



256 ABOUT MEXICO. 

arm of the law, and quite as liable to break out in unex- 
pected times and places as were the long-slumbering fires 
of their own volcanoes. Again and again in Spanish colo- 
nial history was the cruel Indian warfare of our own 
times enacted. During a time of famine they burned 
the palace of the viceroy over his head and tore down 
some of the public buildings in a blind fury which struck 
alike at friend and at foe. Even the labors of their 
kind-hearted spiritual Fathers were several times repaid 
by general murder and pillage. 

Famines were sadly common. At one time this dis- 
aster was followed by a plague which carried off two 
million people. In the all-absorbing search for gold the 
old system of irrigation was neglected, and the moun- 
tains, made bare of their natural covering of trees, ceased 
to regulate the supply of moisture. The streams, sud- 
denly swollen by rain, often became raging torrents, and, 
overleaping their natural bounds, poured down the moun- 
tain-sides into the lakes. In the Valley of Mexico there 
were five of these which were often so full in times of 
freshets that they overflowed every barrier and ran to- 
gether. 

Lake Tezcuco, in which the City of Mexico originally 
stood, and which is still near it, is twenty-six feet lower 
than Lake Zumpango, farther north. In 1607, after the 
city had been several times flooded by the influx of the 
waters from the upper lake, it was resolved that it should 
be drained by tunneling the mountain-wall which sur- 
rounds the valley at its lowest point. Fifteen thousand 
Indians were set to work on this gigantic enterprise, and 
by a reckless sacrifice of human life the subterranean 
canal, twelve miles long, was cut through in a few 
months, making an outlet to the sea. But the torrents 



THE HEEL OF THE OPPRESSOR. 



257 



which sometimes flowed through it carried with them so 
much sand and rubbish that the canal was soon choked 
up, not being made with a sufficient slope to give momen- 
tum to the current. The sides gave way, the vaulted roof 
fell in, and the upper lake was dammed up again. More 
than seventy years afterward the consulado, or incorpo- 
rated merchants of Mexico, took the work in hand and 
resolved to make an open cut. This was done, at an 
enormous expense of men and money, about one hundred 




REFRESHMENTS FOR THE HUNGRY (MEXICO). 

and thirty years after it was begun. During this time 
Mexico was almost entirely under water for five consec- 
utive years. The foundations of houses were destroyed, 
and such misery prevailed that the court at Madrid gave 
orders that the city which Cortez built should be aban- 
doned and a new Mexico built, on higher ground. Hap- 
pily, several earthquakes during the year 1634 cracked 
the ground in various directions, and the surplus water 
made its way down through the yawning fissures, much 
to the relief of the inhabitants, who had been living 
17 



258 ABOUT MEXICO. 

in second stories and on roofs and going about in 
boats. The poor natives gave all the credit of this 
providential interference to their patron Our Lady of 
Guadaloupe. 

As in other things, so also in the matter of education, 
did the Church befriend the Indians. In the latter part 
of the sixteenth century the Jesuits founded a seminary 
where the natives were taught to read, write and recite 
prayers to the Virgin and the saints. The University 
of Mexico, for the education of Creole youth, had been 
established more than thirty years when this school was 
begun. About the same time an attempt was made to 
gather the wandering savage tribes at the North into 
settled habitations, and to teach them to work as a source 
of revenue to the colony, and also to quell their con- 
stant tendency to rebellion. This proved to be a very 
difficult task, and more than one mission established for 
this purpose was destroyed and had its leaders murdered 
by those whom they came to help. 



CHAPTER XX. 

VICEROYALTY. 

THE Indians were not the only sufferers from the 
grasping policy of Spain. She proved to be in 
every way an unnatural mother to this the fairest of her 
Western possessions. Throned between the oceans, with a 
front on both the eastern and the western hemisphere, a 
storehouse of the world's richest mineral treasures and 
blessed with a variety of climate and productions which 
gave her the advantage of every zone, Mexico should 
have been the commercial peer of Spain. Humboldt 
called Mexico el puente del comercio del mundo (" the 
bridge of the commerce of the world "), it being on the 
direct highway between Europe and Asia. "At one 
time/' says Brantz Mayer, "the East and the West 
poured their people through the cities of Vera Cruz and 
Acapulco, and some of the most distinguished mer- 
chants of Europe, Asia and Africa met every year in 
the capital, midway between Spain and China, to trans- 
act business and exchange opinions upon the growing 
facilities of an extended commerce." 

The Council of the Indies decided that Mexico herself 
should derive no benefit from all these natural advan- 
tages : she should be simply a colony of miners at work 
for the mother-country, furnishing a market for her ex- 
ports. The colonists were forbidden to make any article 

259 



260 ABOUT MEXICO. 

in Mexico which Spain could provide. All commerce 
with other countries, and even with sister-colonies, was 
prohibited on pain of death. No vessels but those of 
the mother-country could enter the ports, and these 
were carefully searched lest contraband articles — especially 
books — should be concealed among the cargo. Modern 
history and all political writings were particularly under 
ban. All spirit of inquiry was stifled. One of our out- 
spoken newspapers would have been considered an in- 
fernal machine by the inquisitorial censors of the press, 
who, through lack of heretics to burn, hunted books. A 
publishing-house in 1770 had to get special permission to 
bring over type to print an almanac. As all the small 
dealers in the country were obliged to report, under oath, 
the amount of their purchases and sales, perjury and 
smuggling became national vices. Every article of im- 
port was taxed each time it changed hands, and instances 
were known where such a tax was paid on a single article 
thirty times before it reached a consumer. Even Nature 
was repressed in her exuberance. The law frowned upon 
Mexican grapes and olives if planted by the hand of man, 
lest some enterprising Creole or Indian might hinder the 
sale of wine and oil from Spain by engaging in the man- 
ufacture of these articles at home. 

For many years after the colony was established on 
this " bridge of the world/' maritime nations of Europe 
were busy searching for that famous strait to the south 
seas and other places which had long figured in the geo- 
graphical romances of Europe. The viceroys of Mexico 
were anxious to add to the lustre of their reign by some 
great discovery. At one time rumors of a rich kingdom 
at the North were brought to the capital by an exploring 
party led by a Franciscan friar who had been in that 



VICEROYALTY. 261 

direction. The name of this region was Quivara. Here 
arose the seven cities of Cibola painted in glowing colors 
by the monk who first visited them. This romantic story 
reaching Spain, orders came back to the viceroy to explore 
and subdue the land without delay. Cortez, who was then 
living on his Mexican estate, offered to fulfill this task, 
but was refused. An army was sent out under Coro- 
nado, taking the great natural highway leading toward 
the north over the table-land, where it entered Avhat is 
now known as New Mexico. Like the seekers after the 
enchanted islands whose splendid domes and walls lured 
the mariners of a hundred years before, the soldiers trav- 
eled on and on in a fruitless search, wintering twice 
in the wilderness and coming back disgusted because 
they found only a community of Indian farmers living 
in the large pueblos. A few. miserable villages still 
remain to mark the probable site of the cities of Cibola. 

Mexico whilst ruled by Spain was never so civilized 
after the conquest as before. It is recorded of one of the 
viceroys at the close of the eighteenth century that he 
caused the streets of the capital to be lighted and drained, 
and strengthened the police-force of this robber-infested 
land. Beggary increased under Spanish rule, until at the 
beginning of this century there were twenty thousand 
beggars in the capital alone. 

Very little was done in the way of public improve- 
ment during the three centuries of viceroyalty. There 
were no roads except such as led from one large city to 
another, and these were very poor. The nobles and the 
rich Creoles lived on immense estates called haciendas, 
which separated them widely. One of these gentlemen, 
who lived on the hills bordering the lowlands, had a 
hacienda ninety miles long by fifty wide. He fitted out 



262 ABOUT MEXICO. 

several large vessels yearly, at one time sending over a 
great shipload of mahogany, and, at another, one of ce- 
dar logs, from his own forests, as a present to Philip II. 
of Spain. Besides these munificent gifts, he sent a prince- 
ly invitation to the king, declaring that if His Majesty 
would do him the honor to come back in one of these 
vessels to Mexico his horse should walk from the shore 
to the capital on ingots of silver. Millions upon mil- 
lions of gold and silver produced in the mines were sent 
abroad and helped to carry on the wars by which Europe 
was devastated. In the years 1 773-74 twenty-six millions 
of dollars were sent to Spain each year. She had con- 
quered the New World, and was using its enslaved pop- 
ulation to help her to lay waste the Old World also. It 
would be remarkable that during the three hundred 
years of Spanish government of Mexico and Peru no 
one of the enemies of Spain despoiled her of those 
treasure-houses, did we not remember how much easier 
it was for the cruisers of England and France to capture 
the Spanish galleons on the high seas than to invade the 
country and dig the silver and gold from the mines for 
themselves. As years went on the Church joined the 
State in its oppressions of the people. The supremacy 
of the former became the highest aim of the dissolute 
and avaricious priesthood against which Cortez warned 
his king. With this one purpose in view, the monks 
fostered ignorance and compromised with vice, until, 
like foul and monstrous parasites, these growths well- 
nigh smothered every vestige of life in the nation. 

While Spain was shaping her colonial policy, Rome 
was in a deadly struggle with the German Reformers. 
Leo X. was building St. Peter's church ; to raise the 
vast sums of money required in this work, he decided on 



264 ABOUT MEXICO. 

an unheard-of exercise of his spiritual power. It was 
declared that the Church had more of the merits of 
Christ and the saints than was needed for her ordinary 
use, and that a surplus was now for sale. Forgiveness 
of sins could be had for cash, and, as for souls in purga- 
tory, " the moment the money chinked in the box " of a 
seller of indulgences they were released from suffering 
for any time specified, and paid for accordingly. Heresy 
was the only crime which could not be forgiven. No 
indulgences were so popular as those which condoned 
lying, stealing and murder. This infamous traffic aroused 
Luther to a valiant defence of the truth. In 1517, as 
he nailed his famous theses on the church door at Wit- 
tenberg, the sturdy blows of his hammer had resounded 
throughout Europe, and for years afterward its princes 
and prelates were battling around the standard of relig- 
ious liberty which he then raised. But no sound of this 
warfare seems to have crossed the sea to Mexico. In 
time we hear of an arrangement between the pope and 
Charles V. by which Mexican gold was made to flow into 
the coffers of Rome. The king bought up a large num- 
ber of indulgences and dispensations and retailed them 
in New Spain. It was one of the conditions of this 
wicked traffic that no man should buy more than fifty 
permissions to steal in one year. "Darkness covered 
the land, and gross darkness the people." Charles made 
vast sums of money by this monopoly, and in the squab- 
bles which arose between him and his partners as to 
which was the largest shareholder the pope was beaten. 
Those who believed that God could thus be bribed to 
wink at sin had small need of clean hands in doing the 
work of his Church. 

The spirit of inquiry could not have been wholly re- 



VICEBOYALTY. ' 265 

pressed, for, in 1572, Philip II. thought it necessary to 
set up a branch of the Spanish Inquisition in Mexico. 
It is not probable that many victims were looked for 
among the poor and ignorant natives. Their heathenism 
was always tolerated by Rome; so long as they went 
through the forms of obedience they might indulge in 
pagan rites. But the rich colonists were looked after 
most carefully. After an existence of over eighty years in 
Mexico this satanic institution furnished fifty victims to 
be burned alive at the stake. In 1767, Charles VII. of 
Spain, convinced that the Jesuits were plotting against 
him, ordered that the society should be suppressed in 
every part of his dominions. Sealed despatches were 
sent to every Spanish colony, to be opened by the author- 
ities on the same day. In April, 1767, when the order 
took effect, several hundred were sent from Mexico. 
Even the pope, whose special servants they were, shut 
his door in their faces. But, though the Jesuits were 
expelled, the Church establishment continued to engross 
much of the wealth and power of Mexico. Its ecclesias- 
tics were the chief land- owners and capitalists of the 
country. The archbishop was the head of a great loan 
and trust company, and under deeds or mortgages held 
one-third of the real estate in Mexico. In 1750 it was 
stated that the amount of money drawn by the Church 
from this bankrupt nation corresponded to the interest on 
a capital of one hundred and fifteen millions of dollars. 
There are few more sumptuous church-interiors in the 
world than those of several of the cathedrals of Mexico. 
The walls of the cathedral of the City of Mexico cost about 
two millions of dollars. On its massive silver altar within 
stands a small shrine in which is an image of the Virgin 
whose three petticoats — one embroidered with pearls, an- 



266 • ABOUT MEXICO. 

other with emeralds and the third with diamonds — are 
said to be worth three millions of dollars more. These im- 
posing churches often stand in little villages of adobe huts, 
the homes of ignorance and squalid poverty. The contrast 
between the church and its surroundings is all the more 
striking when we remember that what the village is now 
it has always been since Rome took possession of Mexico, 
and nothing could better illustrate the perverted Chris- 
tianity she has taught its people than these proud shrines, 
in whose unwholesome shadow they have been sitting for 
centuries. A picture of Mexico has been given by a 
visitor from this country in 1846 : * " The things which 
most strike an American on his first arrival in Mexico 
are the processions, ceremonies and mummeries of the 
Catholic worship. As to any rational idea of true 
religion or any just conception of its divine Author, the 
great mass are little more enlightened than were their 
ancestors in the time of Montezuma. Their religion is 
very little less an idolatry than that of the grotesque 
images of stone and clay of which it has taken the place." 
Mexico is still one of the darkest corners of the pope's 
dominions. Nor is this to be wondered at when the char- 
acter of its priesthood is understood. The abbe Dome- 
nech, who accompanied Maximilian to Mexico, speaking 
of these blind leaders of the blind, says of the Roman 
Catholic Church as he found it there, " It fills no mission 
of virtue, no mission of mercy, no mission of charity. 
Virtue cannot exist in its pestiferous atmosphere. The 
code of morality does not come within its practice. It 
knows no mercy, and no emotion of charity ever moves 
the stony heart of that priesthood which, with an avarice 
that has no limit, filches the last penny from the diseased 
* Recollections of Mexico, by Waddy Thompson. 



VICEROYALTY. 267 

and dying beggar, plunders the widows and orphans of 
their substance as well as their virtue, and casts such a 
horoscope of horrors around the death-bed of the dying 
millionaire that the poor superstitious wretch is glad to 
purchase a chance for the safety of his soul by making 
the Church the heir to his treasures." 

All the viceroys but one — who was always known as 
the "great governor of New Spain" — were foreigners. 
It was the policy of the mother-country to surround this 
shadow of a king with a privileged class similar to the 
old nobility of Europe. They were all of pure Castilian 
blood and natives of Europe. Their children, if born in 
Mexico, were Creoles. To these foreigners were granted 
certain privileges {fueros) which in time created a great 
and impassable barrier between them and the Creoles. 
The Indians called these people gatzopins, or centaurs, 
afterward corrupted into gachupines — a word which may 
be traced back to the old idea that Spanish horses and 
men were one animal. These gachupines were always 
looked upon as aliens, as they truly were. All the honors 
and emoluments in Church and in State were reserved for 
this privileged class ; every law was intended to benefit 
them. The system of fueros which elevated the gachu- 
pines was extended also to certain classes among the 
Creoles. Special privileges were thus granted to the 
army which lifted a soldier almost entirely out of the 
reach of the civil law and mac]e both officers and men 
responsible to their commander alone. The clergy owed 
obedience only to the bishops, and these in turn to the 
pope of Rome, who kept his hold on the keys of this 
great treasure-house by entering into a business partner- 
ship with the king of Spain. The schools, the engineers, 
the revenue-officers, and others employed by the govern-; 



268 ABOUT MEXICO. 

ment, were so fenced about by these peculiar fueros that 
there was a never-ceasing conflict between the central 
authorities and their irresponsible subjects. The result 
of these long-fostered evils was constant friction. No 
difference in blood could create so much bitterness as 
these odious class-distinctions. Gachupine and Creole 
thoroughly hated each other, while both trod remorse- 
lessly on the Indian. 

About thirty-five years after the United States threw 
off its colonial yoke Mexico was aroused from the uneasy 
sleep of centuries to take a part in the great struggle for 
liberty then going on in the world. The fall of the 
Bourbon dynasty in Spain, in 1808, was the death-knell 
of absolute monarchy in all her colonies. In that year 
Charles VI. abdicated in favor of his son, Ferdinand VII. 
This step, taken in haste, would gladly have been re- 
tracted, but Ferdinand would not yield. While father 
and son were quarreling Napoleon interfered and put his 
brother, Jerome Bonaparte, on the throne, declaring that 
the house of Bourbon had now ceased to reign. Ferdi- 
nand was obliged to sign the decree of the council of the 
Indies commanding their Mexican colony to obey the 
usurper. Strange to say, the gachupines, those creatures 
of an absolute monarchy, approved of this measure, but 
the Creoles, in their intense loyalty, publicly burned 
Ferdinand's enforced proclamation. 

In this emergency the. viceroy summoned a junta of 
the chief men in Church and State. For the first time 
in their history the Creoles were put upon an equality 
with the gachupines by an invitation to assist at this 
council. They were delighted, but the old Spaniards 
were so enraged that they went to the palace of the vice- 
roy and seized him, hurrying him away to prison, where 



VICEROYALTY. 269 

they kept him three years. These high-handed proceed- 
ings proved the ruin of the gachupines. The Creoles 
were determined to uphold Ferdinand, raising seven 
millions of dollars in a few months to aid the struggling 
royalists of Spain. 

In 1812 the Spanish Cortes enacted a constitution 
which embodied many such reforms as the freedom of 
the press, the suppression of the Inquisition, the closing of 
monasteries and convents, the expulsion of the Jesuits 
and the cutting off of all privileges belonging exclu- 
sively to the army and the nobility. To crown all, the 
people were invested with power. But long before the 
ignorant peasantry of Spain could realize their high 
privileges a counter-revolution had seated Ferdinand on 
the throne, as firm a believer as ever in 

" The right divine of kings to govern wrong." 

He annulled everything the Cortes had done, persecuted 
those who had in any way aided the people in their 
cause, revived the Inquisition, and thus plunged the 
nation into a civil war which lasted six years. In 1820 
the people regained their power and compelled the king 
to swear to support the constitution. There were great 
rejoicings all over Spain, to which Ferdinand listened in 
silence. He was a Bourbon of whom it was well said, 
" They never learn anything, and never forget anything." 
The royalists, though in a decided minority, began to 
plot again, and ere long the perjured king, with the aid 
of the Church, had regained his despotic power, and a 
cloud from the Dark Ages seemed for a time to over- 
shadow Spain. Ferdinand was restored once more to 
his throne and compelled again to swear to support the 
constitution. Backed by the Holy Alliance, he entered 



270 ABOUT MEXICO. 

Madrid as before in royal state, but only to become 
again false to his God and his country. He revoked 
all his acts since 1820, re-established the Inquisition 
and its attendant despotism, and for years Spain was 
like Mazeppa's horse, struggling to throw its riders, liv- 
ing and dead. 

All this time Mexico was a deeply-interested spectator. 
Loyalty in a Spaniard amounts to religion, and some, 
even among those who murmured loudest against the 
exactions of the government, sided with the tyrants they 
once had upbraided. But, with all the sympathy it re- 
ceived, royal authority in Mexico had received its death- 
blow. The Creoles had been watching from afar that 
battle for liberty in which the United States had borne 
a leading part, and, though not republicans in sentiment, 
they were determined to put down those odious class- 
distinctions by which so long they had been debarred 
from taking their rightful place in the government coun- 
cils. They were dissatisfied with persons, not with prin- 
ciples, and insisted that natives of the country should 
have an equal share with foreigners in the management 
of colonial affairs. But this reasonable request was 
violently opposed by the gachupines. 

While the Spaniards were thus at SAvords' points among 
themselves over questions of rank, still heavier grievances 
were adding weight to the old yoke of servitude borne 
by the Indians. In 1808 a plot was discovered among 
them to lighten their burdens by securing the independ- 
ence of Mexico. Foremost among the conspirators 
was Miguel Hidalgo, the Indian priest, or cura, of the 
little village of Dolores, near San Miguel el Grande. 
The great uprising under this patriot was the dawn of a 
new day for Mexico. He was a man of noble presence 




MIGUEL HIDALGO. 



272 ABOUT MEXICO. 

and great natural ability, " representing the best elements 
of the people to whom he belonged/ 7 having endeared 
himself to them by a blameless life and by fatherly care 
over their temporal as well as their spiritual interests. 
In spite of stringent laws against colonial enterprise, 
he had encouraged them to make the most of the vege- 
table treasures with which Mexico is so richly endowed. 
Under his direction they had cultivated the native silk- 
worm and planted vineyards and olive trees. But the 
jealousy of the government was aroused. Spanish 
monopolies could be sustained only by crushing the 
serfs, soul and body, under foot. Hidalgo saw the 
olive and mulberry trees of Dolores uprooted by a 
special order from Mexico, the vineyards laid waste and 
his people ordered to go back to tasks more befitting their 
condition as slaves. An oil-and-wine press had been 
established near by, in Guanajuato, and just then the 
war in Spain had made oil and wine so scarce and dear 
that home manufacture was much encouraged and very 
profitable. New hope had sprung up, therefore, among 
the small planters throughout the district of Salamanca, 
when the police-force came upon them, tore down the 
mill and destroyed the stock of the proprietor. 

The long-pent-up hatred toward the conquerors now 
burst forth with redoubled strength. Hidalgo had be- 
come one of a band of conspirators scattered throughout 
the country who had plotted to make Mexico independ- 
ent. For years he had been brooding over the wrongs 
of his people, when the outrages at Guanajuato and 
Dolores fired him with new zeal and courage. The 
war-cry would soon have sounded, when, by the treach- 
ery of one of the band, the plan was exposed. The 
man was suddenly taken ill, and, fearing that he was 



VICEROY ALTY. 273 

about to die, he confessed all to the priest. Most of the 
clergy were hand in hand with the tyrants, and this one 
of the fraternity, though bound by oath not to reveal 
the secrets of the confessional, lost no time in spreading 
the news. 

Tidings came to Hidalgo late one evening in Decem- 
ber. Not a moment was to be lost. Messengers were 
sent to the captain of a regiment, La Rexia, near by, 
who was also one of the conspirators. He came with 
his men early the next morning, and the standard of Mex- 
ican independence hastily set up before the curate's door 
attracted all eyes. The villagers flew to arms. In twelve 
days twenty thousand Indians had gathered about this 
new flag, the first that had roused any enthusiasm since 
the old tribal banners had been laid low. They were a 
motley crowd, armed with slings, bows, clubs, lances and 
the machetes, or hoes, with which they tilled the soil. 
Very few besides the soldiers had muskets or knew how 
to handle them. Hidalgo put on a general's dress and 
marched at the head of the mob to Guanajuato. Every 
ranche and every hamlet on the way had furnished new 
recruits to join the wild shout, " Death to the gachupines 
and independence for Mexico I" Then Hidalgo arrested 
the gachupines. The whole city was in an uproar. The 
next morning he presented his cause to the people and 
carried all hearts before him. The citizens rose almost 
to a man and joined the insurgents. 

But the partisans of Hidalgo were a cruel and lawless 
mob. Unused to war, they could not be held in check, 
and divided councils soon imperiled the cause so right- 
eously begun. On the march to the capital his army 
increased to one hundred thousand men. The leading 
classes were by this time in arms against them, and their 

18 



274 ABOUT MEXICO. 

very numbers were an obstacle to their success. Orders 
had been given in Mexico to kill all the men, women 
and children in any town or village which should show 
favor to the rebels. The brutal general Callega, who 
carried out the government orders, wreaked its utmost 
vengeance on Guanajuato. He is said to have butchered 
at one time, in cold blood, fourteen thousand prisoners in 
that city alone. 

Hidalgo was permitted to baptize the cause so dear to 
his heart only with a martyr's blood. He was making 
his way toward the United States, hoping for shelter 
there till his plans could be better arranged, but he was 
betrayed and captured, deposed from his priesthood and 
shot at Chihuahua, July 30, 1811. 

True as was Hidalgo's devotion to his country, he 
fought against an enemy whose right arm he was blindly 
upholding. This was shown by his unswerving loyalty 
to that Church whose corruption and lust of power have 
ever made her a fit ally for despots. During the revolu- 
tionary struggles which followed Hidalgo's death the 
people began to see that their Spanish masters had no 
more faithful friends and allies than the Romish priest- 
hood. Hidalgo's enthusiastic love for the Church was 
echoed by the first Mexican Congress, which met in 
1812, the year after his death. They declared that 
the Catholic religion only should be recognized and 
allowed in the State, and that the press should be free 
except for the discussion of religious matters. Slavery 
was abolished, privileges of birth and color were an- 
nulled, the property of the gachupines was confiscated, 
and a representative government of natives was inau- 
gurated. 

The cause of liberty did not die with Hidalgo. While 



VICEROY ALTY. 275 

still hopeful of success he had commissioned Morelos, an 
Indian priest, as captain-general of the insurgent force 
at the South. After the death of Hidalgo the chief 
command devolved on his brother-patriot. 

The royalists had entered on a war of extermination, 
and not a town or a village dared shelter the rebels. 
Morelos resolved to tire out his enemies by changing the 
scene of conflict to the hot lands on the coast, where the 
men of the cold regions would melt away with its deadly 
fevers. 

At one time, on a retreat to Oaxaca, Morelos hoped to 
find shelter for his troops in a little town surrounded by 
a deep moat. As they came to the bank with the enemy 
in hot pursuit they saw, to their dismay, that the draw- 
bridge was raised and the better to prevent their entrance 
the townspeople had secured every boat. Seizing an axe, 
Guadalupe Victoria, afterward first president of the re- 
public, sprang into the stream, and in the sight of the 
panic-stricken crowd on the opposite bank he swam boldly 
across, cut the ropes which held the bridge aloft, and as 
it came down with a thundering crash Morelos and his 
men dashed over and took possession of the place. 

A story is told of Miguel Bravo, another of the patriots, 
that shows the spirit which animated many of these noble 
men. Three hundred prisoners had fallen into their 
hands at the siege of Palmo, and General Morelos gave 
the disposal of them to Bravo, who immediately offered 
them all to the viceroy in exchange for his father, Don 
Leonardo Bravo, then a prisoner under sentence of death 
at the capital. But the viceroy rejected the offer and 
ordered the execution to take place immediately. When 
Bravo heard the sad news, he set his three hundred men 
at liberty, saying, " I wish to put it out of my power to 



276 ABOUT MEXICO. 

avenge my father's death lest in the first moments of my 
grief the temptation to do so would prove irresistible."* 

A national Congress which had been summoned to 
organize an independent government had not yet finished 
its work when the members were driven out of Chilpan- 
zinco, where they were in session. Morelos led them to 
a dense forest, and there, hidden in the shadow of its 
great trees, the declaration of Mexican independence and 
its first constitution were drawn up. Before the work was 
completed an alarm was given, " The royalists are upon 
us !" Hastily gathering up their precious documents, the 
men fled, and Morelos and his handful of patriots, closing 
in behind them, held until they were beyond pursuit the 
pass through which they were flying. Morelos heroically 
stood his ground until but one man remained at his side. 
Then, when forced to surrender, he said calmly, " My 
race is run when an independent government is estab- 
lished in Mexico." He was condemned to be shot for 
high treason. As he knelt beside the grave already 
yawning to receive his body, his faith turned from the 
saints and the Virgin, who were the objects of prayer 
and adoration for generations, and he cried out to Jesus 
Christ, the one Mediator between God and man, exclaim- 
ing with his last breath, 

" Lord, if I have done well, thou knowest it ; if ill, to 
thine infinite mercy I commend my soul !" 
* Ward's Mexico, vol. i. p. 204. 



CHAPTER XXI. 



MEXICA N TND FPENDENCE. 




mHE fall of Morelos 
seemed a death- 






blow to the insurgents. 
Under his bold leader- 
ship men of different 
ranks in society and of 
varying shades of opin- 
ion had marched shoul- 
der to shoulder, Creole 
and Indian, priest and 
layman, monarchist and 
republican, united by 
j one bond only — " Death 
J to gachupines and inde- 
pendence for Mexico !" 
But now all these were 
^sSeredtolhe four winds. In the guerilla- 
warfare that became general during the reign 
of anarchy which followed, the Indios bravos, 
or savage tribes, had their opportunity. The 
open country was given up to banditti, and every ranche 
and every hacienda was a citadel in danger of siege. 
The cities were so infested with robbers that the streets 
were deserted at nightfall, and few rich men escaped 
being kidnapped for the heavy ransom extorted from 

277 



278 ABOUT MEXICO. 

their families. But men were thinking. The standard 
of liberty raised by Hidalgo had floated over the capital 
but sixty -six days, yet duriug that time the liberals had 
used the just-unfettered press to great advantage. News- 
papers and handbills were scattered with a lavish hand, 
and truths were taught that burned in the hearts of men 
like smouldering fire, needing only one breath of free air 
to kindle into flame. 

One of those who stood by when Morelos was put to 
death was Agustin Iturbide, a handsome, dashing young 
officer from the hills of Valladolid, in Southern Mexico. 
He had commanded the government troops when the 
patriot was captured. 

In 1820, when the news of the revolution in Spain 
sent a thrill throughout the colonies, the viceroy of 
Mexico received orders from the Council of the Indies to 
proclaim throughout his dominions that the constitution 
enacted by the Spanish Cortes in 1812 was again the law 
of the land. Anxious lest his own power should be cur- 
tailed, and counting on the support of all the royalists in 
Mexico, Apodaca resolved to oppose these measures, and 
so far as was in his power to reinstate the Bourbons 
on the throne. But Iturbide, though a thoroughgoing 
royalist, saw fit to disobey both Apocada and the Cortes. 
Whatever may have been his motives, God's time had 
come for another blow to be struck for the independence 
of Mexico, and Iturbide, though an enemy of true liberty, 
was the instrument prepared for the work. 

Leagued with the Church party, Iturbide contrived 
to get possession of half a million dollars of public 
money, and proceeded to set up a new kingdom on these 
Western shores with the design of perpetuating here the 
old despotism of Europe, and at the same time to free 



MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE. 279 

Mexico from dependence on the mother-country. He 
devised what is known as the "plan of Iguala," so 
named from the little town near Acapulco where it was 
first set forth. Three ideas are embodied in this plan — 
first, Mexican independence; second, the abolition of 
caste; third, the maintenance of the Roman Catholic 
Church. The country was to be governed by a junta, 
or council, until there could be imported from Europe a 
king whose blue blood would command the respect of all 
parties. 

Priests and monks were now in love with Mexican 
independence. Church property had been confiscated in 
Spain, and there was good reason to fear that the vast 
estates, jewels, money and plate of the Church in Mex- 
ico would soon go the same way if the ties which held 
the two countries together were not sundered. Indeed, 
the Spanish Cortes had already commanded the Mexican 
prelates to disgorge their ill-gotten gains. It may well 
be supposed that Iturbide's response to the viceroy's 
orders aroused the slumbering hopes of every revolution- 
ist in the land. With the eight hundred men with whom 
he started and thousands more who joined him on the 
way, the gay young general came marching into the 
capital with banners and music, and once more the 
war-cry of Hidalgo rang out through the streets of 
Mexico. 

Iturbide found the Cortes torn with the dissensions of 
three parties, each eagerly claiming his support. A few 
urged a return to the old Bourbon principle of one-man 
power ; other royalists insisted that, whoever was king, 
Mexico should have a constitutional government; and 
others, again, wished to throw overboard all these mon- 
archists and establish a republic, taking the United States 



280 ABO UT MEXICO. 

as an example. The tide of enthusiasm over the revolu- 
tion ran high, with Iturbide on its topmost wave. 

The scattered patriots who fought under Hidalgo and 
Morelos now came out of their hiding-places to join in 
the shout of " Independence for Mexico !" Among these 
was Guadalupe Victoria. After the death of his friend 
Morelos every, effort had been made by the government 
to seduce this brave patriot. He was offered high rank 
in the army and a rich reward if he would swear alle- 
giance to viceregal authority. But he could not be 
bought. A price was set on his head, and he was hunt- 
ed like a wild beast. Deserted at last by every follower, 
Victoria fled to the most inaccessible mountains, to re- 
treats where his Indian friends did not follow him. Here, 
in utter loneliness, he lived for two years a hermit's life, 
subsisting only on nuts, berries, roots and such birds and 
animals as he could entrap. He was one of that great 
army of martyrs for truth who in all ages and lands 
have been " destitute, afflicted, tormented (of whom the 
world was not worthy) ; who wandered in deserts, and in 
mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth." 

When the news of Iturbide's proclamation rang 
through Mexico, two faithful Indian followers went in 
search of Victoria to tell him of the new day which had 
dawned for their country. It was just three hundred 
years since the heel of the oppressor had been set on the 
neck of their race. Hope of freedom from their for- 
eign masters had long since died oat, but hope of free- 
dom with them was now bringing Creole and Indian 
into new fellowship, and for the first time in the history 
of Mexico the two races rejoiced together. 

Victoria's retreat was at last discovered in a cave in 
one of the wild gorges spanned now by the national 




HIGH BRIDGE ON THE MEXICO AND VERA CRUZ RAILWAY. 



282 ABOUT MEXICO. 

bridge on the Mexican Railway between Vera Cruz and 
Mexico city. When he came back to the haunts of civ- 
ilized men, he was worn to a skeleton and so covered 
with hair that his nearest friends at first did not recog- 
nize him except by the old fire which gleamed in his eye 
and the dauntless courage with which he sprang at once 
to the welcome task of redeeming Mexico from her old 
fetters. 

Iturbide's arrival in the capital had so roused the 
populace there that the viceroy was obliged to acknowl- 
edge the independence of Mexico to save the gaehupines 
from violence. When this was reported in Spain, the timid 
official w T as promptly recalled ; but the man sent to fill 
his place fared no better in the hands of his new subjects. 
Mexico had for ever shaken off the yoke of Spain, and 
was now launched on the stormy sea of revolution as an 
independent nation. To conciliate their old rulers, and 
at the same time to carry out their plan, the Mexicans 
despatched an invitation to the Bourbons to send one of 
their spare princes over to fill the new throne. But not 
one of them would accept the offer. In the general con- 
fusion which ensued, a grateful people, dazzled by the 
splendid qualities of their liberator, Iturbide, on May 1, 
1822, pushed him into the seat just vacated by the vice- 
roy, giving him the title of " emperor." The Mexican 
Congress, glad to see any way open toward a settlement, 
legalized this disorderly movement of the people, gave 
Iturbide the title " Agustin I.," declared his crown hered- 
itary and conferred royal honors on the whole Iturbide 
family. An order of nobility was created, so that the 
regalia of a Creole nobleman could equal — in glitter, at 
least — the regalia worn by the long-envied gaehupines. 

Agustin I. might have gained a firm footing for him- 



MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE. 283 

self and for his children but for the arrogance with 
which he treated his new subjects and for his indifference 
to their constitutional rights. He soon quarreled with 
the Cortes and arrested a number of the members, then 
dissolved the body and replaced it with a set of men who 
would obey him without question. These high-handed 
proceedings opened the eyes of the people to the true 
character of their favorite. The northern provinces 
were first to turn upon him ; he was now styled " the 
usurper Iturbide." Santa Anna, governor of Vera 
Cruz, uniting with Guadalupe Victoria, joined the dis- 
affected party and hoisted the flag of the republic ; and 
when troops were sent from Mexico by the emperor to 
put down the revolt, they too joined his enemies. Itur- 
bide saw his mistake when it was too late. In March, 
1823, after a reign of only ten months, he offered his abdi- 
cation to the old Congress. Congress ignored the fact that 
he had ever worn a crown, but accorded him the honor 
due to his first title — " Liberator of Mexico " — and sent 
him and his family quietly over-sea on a pension of 
twenty thousand dollars a year. 

One more sad act, and the curtain falls on poor Itur- 
bide. Too restless to stay in Italy, whither he had 
betaken himself, the ex-emperor secretly came back, 
hoping, no doubt, to gain his old place in the hearts of 
his countrymen. He was discovered by one of his former 
generals, arrested as an outlaw by the State of Tamau- 
lipas under a law passed by Congress forbidding him on 
pain of death to set foot on Mexican soil, and shot by 
State authority. 

The year 1824 is one of the bright points in this 
dreary history of turbulence. About that time a galaxy 
of Spanish colonies had declared for independence — 



284 ABOUT MEXICO. 

Chili, New Granada, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela. 
The spirit of republicanism had been spreading like fire 
on dry grass. Mexico for the first time decided to be 
a republic, and was formally recognized as such by Spain. 
In the constitution which the whole country then adopt- 
ed, although patterned after that of the United States, 
the people* show themselves still ignorant of the first 
principle of liberty. All religions but the Roman 
Catholic faith were prohibited, the property of the 
clergy was put beyond the reach of secular law, and 
none but gaehupines were allowed to fill high offices 
in the Church. 

The republican reaction after the fall of Iturbide re- 
sulted in the expulsion of the old Spaniards from the 
country. When the Spanish flag was hauled down from 
the castle of San Juan d'Ulua, not a vestige remained of 
the old colonial power of Spain, this fortress, her last 
foothold on this coast, having held out against the revo- 
lutionists several years longer than any other part of the 
country. By a strange ordering of Providence, its keys 
were finally given into the hands of General Barrancas, 
the husband of a lineal descendant of the Aztec chief 
Montezuma.. The fall of this castle was thus announced 
by the president of the republic in his proclamation : 
"The standard of the republic now waves over the cas- 
tle of Ulua ! I announce to you, fellow-citizens, with 
indescribable pleasure, that now, after a lapse of three 
hundred and four years, the flag of Castile has disap- 
peared from our coasts." Thus ended what is known 
as "the war of independence." Mexico was now a 
member of the family of nations, and, though still 
wearing the fetters of the greatest despotism on earth, 
had already entered on that mighty struggle for constitu- 



MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE. 285 

tional liberty which after a lapse of more than forty 
years has ended in its complete overthrow. 

It would be perplexing and unsatisfactory to trace the 
varying fortunes of those professed 'friends of Freedom 
in Mexico who 

"Presumed to lay their hands upon the ark 
Of her magnificent and awful cause." 

The story of Benito Juarez, the reformer of Mexico, 
will give all needed details of its revolutionary struggles 
and show that, as liberty there had its birthplace in the 
heart of one Indian, so it reached its glorious consum- 
mation through the undying and incorruptible patriot- 
ism of another. 

Benito Juarez was a pure-blooded Zapotec Indian, 
born in 1806 in the little village of San Pablo Guetatao, 
among the mountains of Oaxaca. His tribe held the 
lands of its fathers and maintained a sturdy independ- 
ence during three hundred years of colonial oppression. 
This was one of the tribes before whom the proud 
Aztecs trembled. A few of the men now spoke Span- 
ish well enough to do business when they took their 
produce to market, but the women and children under- 
stood only their old Indian tongue. Young Juarez thus 
grew up in the atmosphere of the past. The simple 
herdmen among whom he lived went on the even tenor 
of their way when Hidalgo raised the standard of inde- 
pendence among the uprooted vines and mulberry trees 
of his parish, though their hearts were no doubt stirred 
with the thought that it was an Indian's hand which had 
lifted their trailing banner, and that one of the same de- 
spised race might yet plant it beyond the reach of a 
Spaniard's grasp. 



286 ABOUT MEXICO. 

The lad Benito had already won a reputation for hon- 
esty and enterprise when he went, an orphan boy, to 
Oaxaca, in 1818, to seek his fortune. He was then but 
twelve years old, modest and thoughtful beyond his 
years. His great desire was to obtain an education, as 
many of his own people had done at that time. He 
could neither read nor speak Spanish correctly. He 
soon found a place as a house-servant in the family of 
a teacher, and paid with his services for his board and 
schooling. In a year's time he had mastered Spanish 
and was studying Latin. His teacher, who had resolved 
to make a priest of young Juarez, put him in an eccle- 
siastical seminary near by. 

On the threshold of his public life, Juarez caught a 
glimpse of the deep-rooted hatred of Rome for that 
which leads the people to think for themselves. In 1826 
the State Legislature gave expression to its liberal prin- 
ciples by founding the Institute of Arts and Sciences of 
the State of Oaxaca. The fears of the priests were not 
groundless : the institute proved to be a focus of revolu- 
tion and so-called heresy. 

Miguel Mendez, a young friend of Juarez, was among 
the first to forsake the seminary for the broader field of 
thought and action opening at the institute. He too was 
a pure-blooded Indian, a youth whose fine talents and 
noble character w T ere full of promise for his race and his 
country. A warm friendship which sprang up between 
the two young men no doubt influenced Juarez to aban- 
don his studies for the priesthood. Mendez, however, 
was cut off in the morning of his days. His early death 
made an impression upon Juarez which was never effaced 
through those long and eventful years in which he was 
permitted to illustrate to the world the great possibilities 



MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE. 



287 



of the Indian character. Juarez had found a home and 
a congenial circle of friends. His horizon widened ; he 
became an intelligent defender of those principles of social 




BENITO JUAREZ. 



and political reform which were then agitating the civil- 
ized world. 

At twenty-three Juarez was elected to the chair of 
natural philosophy in the institute, and, still pursuing 
his legal studies, he came out in 1828 a full-fledged at- 
torney. From this time he rose rapidly, until, after 



288 ABOUT MEXICO. 

filling several positions of honor and trust, he was chosen 
as one of the triumvirate which governed Oaxaca when 
it seceded from the monarchists under Paredes. Finally, 
when that rebellion was crushed and the republic again 
rose from the dust, he was sent to represent his State in 
the general Congress. 

Juarez and his friends did not come a moment too 
soon to save their country from ruin. The selfish ambi- 
tion of party-leaders overruled every other consideration. 
Public credit was at its lowest ebb. Nothing more could 
be drained from the overtaxed and poverty-stricken 
people, and, although the government repudiated its 
debts, it had been obliged to call on the Church to give 
money as well as prayers for the defence of the country. 
An appeal to the great banker of the nation Avas a neces- 
sity. At this time it held untaxable property in lands, 
plate, jewels and money worth three hundred millions, 
with an annual income of twenty-five millions, besides 
mortgages on real estate all over the country which 
yielded millions more. 

In this time of national distress one of the purest 
patriots of Mexico, Farias, proposed that fourteen mil- 
lions of dollars should be raised on this Church property 
- — if possible, by a loan ; but if that could not be obtained, 
to sell enough of it to raise that amount. The bill was 
fiercely attacked as a radical measure. Juarez and others 
pleaded eloquently in its behalf. We can imagine some 
of their arguments as they looked on thousands of lazy 
and dissolute monks fattening on the spoil of centuries, 
while poor laborers and mechanics forced to leave their 
families for the perils and hardships of the battlefield 
had been so long unpaid that the whole army was in a 
state of revolt. The burning words with which this bill 



MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE. 289 

was commended to Congress carried it through by a small 
majority among the politicians, but the people were too 
wild with anxiety to know much of Juarez, their great 
defender, until years had proved his worth and given 
him a place among the world's great reformers. The 
churchmen, having failed in the defence of their prop- 
erty, now appealed to the passions of the mob. There 
were riots in the capital and elsewhere. Yucatan se- 
ceded and Indian raids harassed the northern States, 
while foreign guns thundering against Mexican ports along 
both the Gulf and the Pacific shores added their terrors 
to the scene. Some great public calamity was needed in 
this crisis by which these warring States and people 
should be united by a sense of common danger to de- 
fend their country against a common enemy. 

Amid all this fierce internal strife, Mexico was drawn 
into a war with her powerful neighbor the United States. 
Until boundary questions were settled between the two 
countries, in 1819, the Rio Grande had been claimed as 
the southern border of Louisiana. To rejoin this vast 
territory, justly yielded then to Spain, and to devote it 
to the extension of slavery, had become the aim of a 
large party in the United States. There was room in 
the cotton- and the sugar-producing lands of Texas and 
the country west of it for a tier of States larger than 
all New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 
Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. 

When Mexico became a republic, slavery was prohib- 
ited in its first constitution, although in Texas this law 
had been a dead letter. There was now a growing pub- 
lic sentiment against all class-distinctions which led to 
the re-enactment, in 1825, of an old viceregal law against 
the sale and importation of slaves. Two years later the 

19 



290 ABOUT MEXICO. 

twin-States of Texas and Coahuila, governed by a joint 
Legislature, passed a similar law ; freedom was also given 
to all children born in slavery within their bounds after 
that date. In 1829 every slave in Mexico was uncon- 
ditionally manumitted. 

The drift of these events caused great uneasiness 
among the American colonists in Texas, who by this 1 
time had so increased in numbers and in influence as to] 
have a controlling voice in the politics of that State, 
although its union with Coahuila was a constant hin- 
drance to their schemes. The avowed purpose of the 
Texans to wrest the State from Mexico led the govern- 
ment in 1830 to shut the door against further immigra- 
tion from the North. Contracts between citizens of the 
two countries were as far as possible ignored, and all 
who resisted the laws were imprisoned. The fierce bor- 
der warfare to which this policy gave rise led, first, to 
the severing of the tie between the rebellious State and 
loyal Coahuila, and then to the independence of Texas 
and its recognition by France, England and the United 
States. And now the " Lone Star " of a new republic 
shone out across the stormy sea of American politics. 
How little hope it brought to the friends of human 
progress may be seen from the fact that of the fifty- 
seven signers to its declaration of independence fifty 
were men from the United States pledged to extend the 
area of slavery. By a law passed a few days afterward 
this institution was declared to be perpetual. 

This formidable revolt drew the attention of all Mex- 
ico to the North. President Santa Anna set out for 
San Antonio de Bejar — then occupied by the Texans — 
with all the forces he could muster. The brutality of 
Mexican warfare was displayed in the siege of the Ala- 



MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE. 291 

mo, a strong fortress near the town. With the exception 
of three persons — a woman, her child and a negro ser- 
vant — the whole garrison, numbering one hundred and 
eighty, were mercilessly slaughtered. This massacre cost 
Mexico far more than the men whose lives were lost. A 
few days afterward the Texans defeated Santa Anna at 
San Jacinto, taking as spoils of war all the land which 
but a short time before the United States had offered to 
buy, and extending their borders southward to the Rio 
Grande. But, greatest loss of all, the lawlessness and 
the barbarity of her leaders now stood confessed before 
all the world, alienating those whose sympathies she most 
needed and giving enemies of republicanism fresh occa- 
sion to triumph. 

Mexico had now been for nearly thirty years strug- 
gling toward freedom. Much of the time the cause of 
the people had been lost sight of save by a few patriots 
who deserved the name. The blindness, the ignorance 
and the folly of her political leaders had excited now the 
world's pity and now its scorn or anger. 

About ten years after the scenes of the Alamo all eyes 
were turned to where the forces of Mexico and those of 
the United States were gathering for conflict on the de- 
batable land between the two nations. As an independ- 
ent republic, Texas was much dreaded by the United 
States, as she might at any time fraternize with Mexico 
or accept an English protectorate, which was quite as 
much to be feared. The annexation of Texas by the 
United States, in 1845, led before long to war with 
Mexico. That government had never recognized the 
independence of her revolted State. She had good 
reason, besides, to know that Texas proper was but a 
small part of the territory coveted by her neighbor: 



292 ABOUT MEXICO. 

California also was threatened. The Hon. Waddy 
Thompson, United States minister to Mexico, testifies 
that when the Mexican government ordered the expul- 
sion of his countrymen from California "a plot was 
arranged, and was about being developed by the Amer- 
icans and other foreigners in that department, to re-enact 
the scenes of Texas." That he felt " compunctious 
visitings " when he insisted that Mexico should revoke 
the order to expel those who were plotting her ruin is 
not to be wondered at. Pretexts for war were not want- 
ing when it was found that Mexico would not sell nor 
pawn her property. It was claimed that she was en- 
couraging Indian raids into Texas ; and the " accumulated 
wrongs " of American citizens were also dwelt upon. These 
could be atoned for only by the payment of a total of 
fourteen millions of dollars. After examination by a 
commission appointed by the two governments in 1840, 
five-sevenths of these claims were found to be spurious. 
Between this decision and the actual commencement of 
hostilities, in 1845, scheming politicians of the United 
States were doing their utmost to gain possession of 
Texas and California. 

The annexation of Texas was no sooner consummated 
than the Mexican minister in Washington demanded his 
passports and went home. United States troops sent for 
the protection of Texas had already taken a position on 
soil claimed by Mexico. While thus menacing the bor- 
der the administration in Washington despatched an envoy 
to Mexico empowered to make an offer of twenty-five 
millions of dollars for California. Tempting as was 
this offer, the Mexican government refused to hear of 
anything but a settlement of the Texan question. This 
rebuff was followed by an order from the United States 



MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE. 293 

government to General Taylor to march directly to the 
Rio Grande and try war. 

It does not fall within the purpose of this volume to de- 
scribe the scenes of bloodshed which marked this two years* 
conflict with Mexico. Peace was concluded between the 
two nations at Guadalupe Hidalgo in February, 1848. 
Mexico ceded to the United States an area of more than 
six hundred and fifty thousand square miles. In con- 
sideration of this, the United States paid her fifteen 
millions of dollars and assumed the payment of her 
debts to American citizens not exceeding two and a 
quarter millions.* California had been seized in 1846 
without the loss of a single life. 

Juarez was left by our narrative pleading for means 
to carry on war with the United States, while Santa 
Anna, at the North, was endeavoring to stay the enemy's 
advance. The clergy, unmindful of the nation's peril, 
were stirring up insurrection at home, which was quelled 
only by the return of Santa Anna. Taking sides with 
the enraged priests, this arch-plotter found the opportu- 
nity for self-advancement which he was ever seeking. 
With the army behind him, he became dictator, and 
dissolved the Congress. In the uproar which followed 
in the State of Oaxaca and elsewhere, Juarez was sent 
home to restore order. He was immediately elected 
governor, which office he filled for Rye years with great 
acceptance. 

While at home among his own people Juarez became 
known as one of the ablest and most patriotic statesmen 
in the republic. He found Oaxaca in wild disorder. The 

*The war cost the United States the lives of twenty thousand men 
and the expenditure of one hundred and sixty millions of dollars. 



294 ABOUT MEXICO. 

conservatives had seized every office and bade defiance 
to constitutional law. The State forces had been de- 
feated at Molino del Rey, and it had been invaded 
by United States troops. But when the strong hand 
of Juarez was felt at the helm, rightful authority was 
everywhere restored. With the energy and practical 
common sense for which he was noted, he set the people 
at work to provide arms and ammunition wherewith to 
defend their State. He established a foundry, and with 
ore dug from their own hills a battery was soon provided. 
By patient and systematic economy the public debt was 
wiped out before his term of office expired, and a balance 
of fifty thousand dollars was left in the treasury, Juarez 
retired to the practice of law as poor and as modest as 
when he first left it for public service, but more loved 
and honored. 

While fulfilling the duties of his office as governor 
with unflinching regard for the public weal, Juarez 
offended Santa Anna. When the latter came once more 
into power, in 1853, he immediately caused Juarez's 
arrest. He was seized while pleading in court, and, 
without being allowed to take leave of his family, was 
hurried away to a loathsome prison-cell in the castle 
of San Juan d'Ulua, and from thence he was sent, a 
penniless exile, on board of a British steamer to work 
his passage to New Orleans. It was soon the dictator's 
turn to flee for his life. The country called back its 
old leader from exile, and in July, 1855, we find Juarez 
in Acapulco on the road to Mexico. His old friend 
General Alvarez was now president of the republic, and 
Juarez was made minister of justice. He now found 
himself side by side with men who were clinging to the 
army as the safeguard of the nation, together with those 



MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE. 295 

who believed that the Church should be independeut of 
secular law. 

But the trust of Juarez was in the people. Six-sev- 
enths of them were at his back. What if some of them 
did not yet see in him their appointed deliverer? He 
was none the less responsible for their salvation. His 
keen eye had from the outset detected the weak spot in 
the constitution of the republic; it was in open con- 
flict with that fundamental principle of liberty that all 
men are equal before the law. Until the army and the 
clergy were shorn of those special privileges which 
enabled them to bid defiance to constitutional authority 
the republic would be a failure. What Mexico needed 
was " a government of the people for the people by the 
people." This thought was embodied in the famous law 
for the administration of justice now known by the name 
of its Indian author — " the law of Juarez." The key- 
note of progress was struck on the passage of this bill 
by the Mexican Congress in 1857, and millions of the 
long-enslaved people of Mexico joined in the shout of 
joy with which it was received. This law awoke the 
bitterest opposition from those classes whose privileges 
it attacked. 

Juarez w T as now dismissed from the cabinet as a dan- 
gerously popular man, to serve his State again as gov- 
ernor. But his enemies and his timid friends thus gave 
him an opportunity to put his theories into practice. He 
immediately set to work to educate his fellow-citizens up 
to the true idea of liberty. He built up the common 
schools, encouraged the Institute and urged upon the 
people the principle, untried before, of direct suffrage 
in the election of their governor. The grateful people 
of Oaxaca exercised their new privilege by electing 



296 ABOUT MEXICO. 

Juarez as the first constitutional governor of their State, 
and soon after he was chosen chief-justice of the nation. 
Only a month later, by an overwhelming pressure of 
public opinion, Comonfort, who was then dictator, was 
obliged to make him minister of public government, 
One of the first duties of Juarez in this high position 
was to ask extraordinary powers for the executive. 
Congress hesitated, and but for the confidence felt in 
Juarez as a member of the cabinet the request would 
have been denied. 

The outcome of the reformer's seed-sowing at this 
time was the suppression of the Jesuits, the confiscation 
of their property, and liberty for all religious creeds. 
These radical measures evoked rebellion even in the 
liberal camp, and Comonfort himself joined the insur- 
gents. The triumph of the " old regime " seemed com- 
plete ; the capital, the army and the treasury were in their 
hands. In the near future was a European protectorate. 

As early as 1858 the clericals had sent agents to 
Europe to ask for aid in establishing a monarchy. 
They represented that peace between the contending 
parties was impossible, that the liberals would throw 
the country into the hands of the United States, and 
that the only hope of warding off annexation was by 
strengthening the hands of the Church. Mexico was 
deeply in debt to England, to France and to Spain, and 
these powers now agreed on a scheme of intervention. 
The pretext was an act of the Mexican Congress passed 
in 1860 authorizing a suspension of payment of the pub- 
lic debt for two years. It was a desperate measure and 
unlike Juarez, who proposed it, but the only thing pos- 
sible under the circumstances, and as such was unan- 
imously approved by the members. 



MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE. 297 

The allies took the opportunity to carry their scheme 
into effect while the United States had its hands full 
with a civil war. In 1861 their fleet appeared off Vera 
Cruz. Finding, on their arrival, that the people of 
Mexico were opposed to their interference, had repudi- 
ated the schemes of the monarchists and if let alone 
could manage their own affairs, the English and the 
Spanish forces were withdrawn without waiting to con- 
sult the authorities in Europe. The French, however, 
remained. Louis Napoleon was ambitious to show his 
skill in settling the vexed Mexican question; he had 
a wife who was anxious to show her devotion to the 
Church of Rome by rescuing this portion of the flock 
from the clutches of the heretics. The door seemed 
open. 

After the departure of their allies the French army 
crossed the mountains to the capital, and there set up 
a provisional government. It was their decision that 
a prince must be imported from Europe to rule this 
refractory people, and the choice of the man was left 
to Napoleon HI. With his inherited taste for king- 
making, the French emperor gladly set about the task. 
He soon fixed upon Maximilian, a young archduke 
of Austria, then residing with his wife, Carlotta of Bel- 
gium, in a beautiful and happy home on the shores of 
the Adriatic. 

When the Mexican ambassadors came to offer him a 
crown, Maximilian looked coldly on the proposal ; but 
Carlotta, like Eugenie of France, loved her Church and 
as a sincere Catholic was deeply moved by the sad story 
of her visitors. They told of a beautiful land most 
loyal to the Church ; how its churches and its monas- 
teries had been despoiled by ungrateful children ; but 



298 



ABOUT MEXICO. 



that now the nation, though rent with faction, the prey 
of heretical wolves, needed only a royal hand to bring 
it safely and soundly into the fold of mother-Church. 
The young couple were persuaded to accept the invita- 




CHUKCH OP SAN DOMINGO, CITY OP MEXICO. 

tion. After securing the benediction of the pope, they 
set sail for America on their pious errand, and arrived 
in Vera Cruz in June, 1864. A magnificent welcome 
awaited them from the clerical party, and even the peo- 
ple, united as they were in their protest against foreign 



MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE. 299 

intervention, received the fair Carlotta with smiles. The 
royal pair were heralded from point to point on their 
mountain-road by the thunder of guns and the waving 
of banners. It was a time of great rejoicing to the 
monarchists of Mexico and of Europe. 

But now began the war of intervention ; the war of 
reform had ended in I860. Throughout both these 
conflicts Rome displayed her antagonism to the liberty for 
which Mexico was struggling. To see this we have only 
to read the instructions given by the pope to Maximil- 
ian. Reminding the new-made emperor of his promise 
to protect the Church, Pope Pius IX. claims for her the 
right to rule not only over individuals, but over nations, 
peoples and sovereigns. He denies the right of private 
judgment to the people and justifies emphatically all the 
cruel persecutions which have made Rome " drunk with 
the blood of the saints." His fierce denunciations re- 
mind us of that impious usurper whom in prophetic 
vision Paul beheld sitting in the temple of God and 
setting himself forth as God. 

It was against foreign intervention of popes and kings 
that the constitutionalists of Mexico had now taken up 
arms. Stimulated by the unswerving faith and patriot- 
ism of Benito Juarez, a small party pledged to support 
the constitutional rights of the people rallied about him. 
He had voiced the advanced thought of the age, and was 
determined to live and to die by it. After he was forced 
to evacuate the capital, in 1863, he was for four years 
a fugitive, fleeing from city to city with a handful of 
brave patriots who constituted the republican govern- 
ment. What with timid friends and malicious foes, ho 
seemed at times to stand alone, as though the republic 
existed only in the faithful heart of its Indian president. 



300 ABOUT MEXICO. 

When he was penned up in some city on the borders or 
hiding in the wilderness, if he could not do anything 
else, he would keep alive the wavering faith of friends 
abroad and write words of dauntless courage and sublime 
trust in the future of his country. For two years and a 
half while Juarez and his cabinet were in the State of 
Chihuahua they had no communication with their many 
friends in the South and the West except through Sefior 
Romero, their faithful minister in Washington. 

The liberals averaged a battle a day for a whole year. 
Unaided and unrecognized save when a friendly cheer 
came now and then from some sister-republic at the 
North or the South, Mexico's battle for freedom was 
fought alone. In our war for independence France 
came to the rescue and turned the scale. Poor Mexico ! 
Ridiculed, upbraided, despaired of, yet when was there 
ever a braver, truer struggle for liberty than was hers ? 
Thrilled by the voice of a few patriot-statesmen — them- 
selves poor and hunted like deer in the forest, yet deter- 
mined to break down the barriers to the nation's progress 
— six millions of people who could neither read nor write, 
with the fetters of paganism still clinging to them, and 
with burdens of poverty and debt which found no help- 
er, arose against their enemies and successfully grappled 
with the craft and greed and despotism of Rome, and 
the well-trained soldiery of France, and the timidity 
and ambition of would-be leaders. 

No trumpet that Juarez blew ever had an uncertain 
sound. With that tenacity of purpose which is so char- 
acteristic of his race, the salvation of the republic became 
with him a master-passion. At one time, when enemies 
in disguise were urging him to yield to the mediation of 
England, he saw in their proposition a compromise with 



MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE. 



301 



the clericals. His reply was worthy of au indomitable 
patriot. Declaring his unalterable purpose to be gov- 
erned only by the will of the nation, lawfully expressed, 
he uttered these memorable words : ". I am not the chief 
of a party : I am the lawful representative of the nation. 
The instant I set aside law my powers cease and my mis- 
sion is ended. I cannot — I do not desire to, and must 
not — make any compromise whatever. The moment I 




MEXICAN OFFICERS. 

should do so my constituents would cease to acknowledge 
me, because I have sworn to support the constitution, 
and I sustain with entire confidence the public opinion. 
When this shall be manifested to me in a different sense, 
I shall be the first to acknowledge its sovereign delibera- 
tions." 

There were rifts at last in the dark cloud which hung 



302 ABOUT MEXICO. 

over the republic. Discord in the capital among its 
enemies was the means appointed by God for the deliv- 
erance of the patriots. The only support given to the 
empire was from the clericals, who hoped that when 
Maximilian was firmly seated on his throne he would 
restore to the Church party their lost estates. But the 
emperor soon discovered that he had been deceived by 
these monarchists. The people had repudiated the mon- 
archical form of government and were opposed to foreign 
rule either in Church or in State. Although very friend- 
ly to the priests, Maximilian chose to conciliate the lib- 
erals, whose power he recognized, hoping thus to unite 
all parties. To please them, therefore, he determined to 
sustain the national laws enacted in 1857. This gave 
mortal oifence to the Church in Mexico, though the 
French priests who accompanied the court saw the pro- 
priety of the measure. Several of the largest buyers of 
Church property sold under that law were French sub- 
jects. The pope agreed with the Mexican priesthood, 
who declared that they were worse off under the empire 
than they had been under the republic. They finally gave 
vent to their feelings by excommunicating the French gov- 
ernment, the French army, the French puppet on the 
throne and every Mexican who believed in Frenchmen. 

Maximilian's independence had angered Louis Napo- 
leon also, and his forces were withdrawn. This was a 
deathblow to the empire. Affairs grew desperate. The 
emperor's fears of a revolt among his Mexican friends 
were excited in order to draw him completely to the 
Church party, who alone could save him. Every effort 
was made to turn the tide by awaking the old fear of 
annexation to the United States, now at peace. 

What with the curses of the Church, the distrust and 



MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE. 303 

divisions of his party and the fierce determination of the 
liberals to overthrow the empire and to build again the 
republic, Maximilian grew desperate. Unable to leave 
his post, he sent his wife, Carlotta, to plead with Louis 
Napoleon and the pope for aid ; both were cold and ob- 
durate. Carlotta's last hope was a personal appeal to the 
head of the Church, at the Vatican. But its doors were 
shut in her face. All night the young wife sat in an- 
guished uncertainty in the waiting-room of His Holiness. 
The answer given her at last sent her out into the w^orld 
a maniac. Weighed down with anxiety for Carlotta, 
Maximilian set out to go to her relief, but his sense 
of duty to his friends impelled him to remain and share 
their fate. 

The French army having left Mexico, the emperor 
retreated to Queretaro ; fearing to remain in the capital, 
he chose this city because of its adherence to the clerical 
party. Here he was entrenched in a fortress-like church 
surrounded by high walls enclosing beautiful gardens. 
Had it not been for the treachery of one of his own 
generals, he might have escaped to a place of greater 
safety ; but he was betrayed to the liberal army under 
Juarez. He was condemned to death as an enemy of 
the country, on account of a cruel edict, promulgated 
by him two years before, outlawing all republicans. 
Every effort was made to save him by the consuls of the 
European governments, the United States joining in the 
general protest against this sacrifice of a comparatively 
innocent man. Carlotta was not there to plead for her 
husband's life, but the wife of Prince Salm-Salm, one of 
Maximilian's staff-officers, flung herself at the feet of the 
Indian president to plead for the life of her sovereign. 
Juarez wept as he put aside her clinging hands and 



304 ABOUT MEXICO. 

turned away. He did what he believed to be his duty 
to his country. Maximilian was shot to death, with 
his associates Miramon and Mexia, in June, 1867. 

Up to this time, though religious liberty had been 
formulated as law, it never had been realized in practice. 
The Church party, deprived of the Inquisition and of 
the Wealth which made them the landlords and the bank- 
ers of the nation, now found a stronghold in the super- 
stitions of the people whom they had trained. When 
an avenue was to be lengthened in the capital, a large 
convent was found to be in the way. Congress ordered 
the building to be torn down, but the laborers employed, 
overawed by the priests, who threatened excommunica- 
tion, refused to obey orders. Finding himself powerless 
to enforce the law, Juarez went to his old home in Oa- 
xaca, drilled a regiment of Indians and came marching 
back with them to the capital, where they went to work 
with a will, unhindered by the populace. By such ex- 
pedients as these, and in the face of many difficulties, 
Mexico at last was established on a republican basis. 

Since the war of independence began, under Hidalgo, 
in 1810, ten changes had taken place in the form of 
government. More than fifty persons had been empe- 
rors, dictators and presidents. Repeatedly, two distinct 
governments had existed at the same time, at war each 
with the other. Secession of States was a chronic trou- 
ble ; Texas and Yucatan were altogether lost. Both of 
the emperors were shot. There had been more than 
fifty revolutions and about three hundred pronuncia- 
mientos. The first great principle evolved from this 
chaos was that Mexicu should be an independent nation ; 
the second, that sovereign power should be vested in the 
people. The divisions in the great national party advo- 



MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE. 305 

eating democracy are mostly to be traced to the machina- 
tions of the Church party in its struggles for power, now 
throwing its weight on one side of the scale and now 
on the other with the dominant idea of securing the con- 
trol of the nation. In 1873-74 the liberal constitution 
framed in 1867 was so amended and improved as to be 
in several respects superior to its model, the Constitution 
of the United States. It is now the organic law of Mex- 



ico. 



Juarez, the unswerving friend of republican institu- 
tions, died in office in 1872, after having been for four- 
teen years president of the republic. His pure character, 
his fidelity to trust and his lofty patriotism have given 
him the title of "the Washington of Mexico." In 1880, 
Manuel Gonzales, another Indian, was elected to the 
presidential chair, being the first man who has taken 
that seat without bloodshed. 

Mexico is now a confederation of twenty-seven States, 
one Territory and a federal district. The legislative 
power is vested in a Congress composed of a House of 
Representatives and a Senate. All respectable male 
adults are voters, sending one member to Congress for 
every twenty thousand inhabitants ; these members hold 
their places two years. The president holds office for 
four years, and cannot be re-elected without an interval 
of four years after his term has expired. The present 
executive is General Diaz, who took the chair December 
1, 1884. "Except the immortal Juarez," says a mis- 
sionary observer, "no man was ever more generally 
beloved and honored than General Diaz, a tall, dark, 
half-Indian hero." The members of his cabinet are 
nominal liberals, "but Romanists have taken fresh 
courage since his inauguration, and are openly clamor- 



306 ABOUT MEXICO. 

ing for an avenger of Maximilian to arise." There is 
much said of perfidy and abuse of power. The Prot- 
estants are daily accused of plotting to annex Mexico to 
the United States. The enemies of progress and reform 
are still found in the bosom of the Church of Rome. 
But with a free press, free schools and a free gospel 
Mexico cannot go back to the darkness of the past. 
She may fall for a time, but the prophecy of Abraham 
Lincoln for the United States will yet be realized for 
Mexico : " This nation, under God, shall have a new 
birth of freedom, and a government of the people for 
the people and by the people which shall not perish 
from the earth." 



CHAPTER XXII. 
TO MEXICO BY BAIL. 

THE first object which meets the voyager's eye as he 
approaches Mexico from the east by sea and nears 
the city of Vera Cruz is the white cone of snow-crowned 
Orizaba — "Mountain of the Star" — as it rises behind the 
city, the giant leader of a file of volcanoes crossing the 
continent in this latitude. Flat upon the beach before 
him lies the harborless town, the Villa Rica de la Vera 
Cruz—" Rich City of the True Cross "—of Cortez. Its 
white towers and walls and gayly-tinted roofs and domes, 
mingled with tufted and feathery palms, give to the pict- 
ure an attractiveness not sustained upon a nearer view. 
The illusion is dispelled on entering the city, which is 
dreaded by strangers as the abode of miasms, the home 
of the deadly vomito. It is, however, regularly laid out, 
with streets crossing at right angles, and with houses two 
stories in height, built of coral-rock stuccoed. The buz- 
zards perched lazily on every roof and every tower, and 
even on the golden crosses of the churches, seem sombre 
symbols of danger to the visitor. There is no true har- 
bor here offering shelter in rough weather. From No- 
vember to May the " northers n sweep the Gulf with 
resistless fury, often strewing the coast with wrecks. But 
these wild winds no sooner begin to rage than the city 
is cleared of the dreaded vomito, that scourge of these 

307 



308 



ABOUT MEXICO. 



hot lowlands ; so that, next to the buzzardo, which find 
business all the year round as the only scavengers, the 
northers are the best friends of Vera Cruz. 

Not far from the city, and separated from it by an 
arm of the sea, is the island-fortress of San Juan de 
Ulua. It is a picturesque old pile, said to have cost the 
Spanish government forty millions of dollars. This ex- 




STREET IN VERA CRUZ. 



travagance seems to have been quite a source of vexation 
to Charles V., its first owner. Standing one morning at 
a window of his palace in Spain about the time the 
architect's bills came in, he is said to have pointed . his 
field-glass toward America, and, looking through it in- 
tently for a moment, to have exclaimed with grim humor, 
" Surely, a building which has cost so much should be 
seen above the horizon." This castle was the last foot- 
hold of Spain in Mexico, having held out against the 
revolutionists several years longer than any other place. 
The first thought of every one who comes to Vera 



TO MEXICO BY RAIL. 309 

Cruz is how to find the way out of it. Until 1806 the 
road from this city to the capital — a distance of over two 
hundred and sixty miles — was little better than a mule- 
path. The Mexican Railway, which now links the two 
cities, is one of the greatest marvels of engineering skill 
in the world. It was thirty-six years in building, and 
was opened on New Year's Day, 1873. Crossing the 
arid levels of the tierra caliente (" hot lands ") bordering 
the Gulf, the road reaches a point about forty-five miles 
west of Vera Cruz, when it suddenly begins to climb the 
first terrace or the foothills of that great mountain-mass 
crowded into the taper-end of North America. The air 
grows cold and bracing and every breath is laden with 
the perfume of innumerable flowers. The roadside is 
lined with lofty palms. Morning-glories of luxuriant 
growth, with rainbow-tinted flowers, run riot among the 
trees, and orchids, or plants of the air, finding no room 
in the teeming soil beneath, take wings like strange bright 
birds and nestle on the crotches of the trees or cling to 
their branches. 

The road lies through vast coifee-plantations as rich in 
fruit and flower and leaf as though they were in their 
own native Asia. Fields of corn overtop the low-roofed 
Indian huts, which, half hidden in the waving verdure, 
seem to be surrounded by some glittering phalanx 
of old-time warriors with tossing plumes and robes of 
green. Here perpetual summer reigns, and the fruits 
and the flowers of every zone flourish side by side. Four 
times each year the reaper may follow the sower and 
gather crops yielding from one hundredfold to four 
hundredfold. On the skirts of Orizaba there are majes- 
tic forests of mahogany, rosewood and other valuable 
trees. Here and there in some quiet valley or on the 



310 ABOUT MEXICO. 

shelves of the mountains are some of the finest estates 
in the world. One of these haciendas lies eleven thou- 
sand feet above the sea. Herds of cattle feed in the pas- 
tures far from any human habitation. 

From many points the traveler looks down into some 
deep gorge of the Sierra Madre, the home of a laughing 
mountain-stream. He sees far below him, perhaps on a 
level with the sea, a bit of tievva caliente dropped into a 
seam of the rocky mass, rejoicing in the warmth and 
luxuriance of the perpetual spring which is possible in 
such shelter. From some cabin down there the Indians 
come toiling up laden with luscious fruits to sell at the 
nearest railroad station — oranges golden bright in a 
pretty home-made basket which goes with the fruit, 
great bunches of bananas, pineapples rich and melting, 
at three cents apiece, and other fruits which the sunny 
South has so entirely monopolized that they are unknown 
to us. The venders make a picture to remember — cop- 
per-colored faces, heavy, straight black hair and dark, 
melancholy eyes. The white cotton garments of the 
men and their big straw hats are fashions centuries old, 
but the bright-colored woolen blanket (serape) over the 
left shoulder and the long cigar are Spanish innovations. 
The women wear short calico dresses and a small scarf 
(called a reboza) of silk or cotton, fringed at the ends, 
wrapped about the head and the shoulders. This is 
the cradle of the inevitable baby or serves as a pouch for 
some other heavy load. As she goes to market the In- 
dian woman shows the industry and the patience of her 
race by hands busied with her knitting or in picking the 
chickens she has brought to sell. 

But we are off the track. The Mexican Railway 
passes through but few large towns. Orizaba, a sleepy 



TO MEXICO BY RAIL. 



311 



old place nestling picturesquely on the slope of the 
mountains, is a paradise for invalids, with its quaint 
houses, whose widespreading eaves almost elbow each 
other across the clean but narrow streets. Tlascala 
(Tlaxcalla) is left a little to the south as the train moves 




INDIAN HUT IN THE TIERRA CAEIENTE. 

on and up. In one place a rise is made of four thousand 
feet in twenty-five miles. As the road climbs higher and 
higher one stratum of climate after another is passed, 

to 

till the temperate region is left far below, and the cool 
breeze blowing in the car window seems to come from 
some latitude far to the north. The road, hewn out of 
the solid rock, seems to cling to the bare ribs of Mother 
Earth. Now if runs like a slender thread along the 



312 ABOVT MEXICO. 

face of a tremendous cliff, now doubles on itself till the 
locomotive can stare into the windows of the rear car, 
and now T at a dizzy height it spans some abyss with a 
bridge which looks like a cobweb suspended in the air. 
After climbing about eight thousand feet into cloudland, 
the track begins to dip toward the great Valley of Mex- 
ico. The air is thin and pure, the mountains are bare and 
bleak, with trees of stunted growth and open levels of 
pasture-land from whose heights are seen still loftier 
summits crowned wifh eternal snow. 

One of the finest views of Orizaba the peerless is seen 
from these high grounds. Dr. Haven thus describes it : 
" How superbly it lifts its shining cone into the shining 
heaven ! Clouds had lingered about it on our way hith- 
er, touching now its top, now swinging around its' sides, 
but here they are burned up, and only this pinnacle of 
ice shoots up fourteen thousand feet before your amazed 
uplifted eyes. Mont Blanc, at Chamouni, has no such 
solitariness of position, nor rounded perfection, nor rich 
surroundings. Everything conspires to give this the 
chief place among the mountains of the earth." 

Passing on and down, the City of Mexico is reached 
at last, from the north. The general direction of the 
track is westward, but it enters the capital near the fa- 
mous shrine of Our Lady of Guadaloupe. The train 
which started at midnight from Vera Cruz passed the 
mountains by daylight not only to give the passengers 
an opportunity to enjoy the scenery, but to avoid the 
car-wreckers and brigands who so infest the country 
that a guard of soldiers is necessary on every train, be- 
sides the armed and mounted police at each station on 
the road. The run from the coast to the capital is 
now made in twenty hours. 



314 ABOUT MEXICO. 

The City of Mexico is beautiful for situation from 
whatever point it is seen. It stands on the lowest level 
of the valley, about seven thousand feet above the sea, 
and forms a square like a great checker-board, nearly 
three miles in length each way. Being no longer on an 
island, the causeways have long since disappeared, and 
instead are paseos, or raised paved roads, planted on 
each side with double rows of trees and running far out 
into the country. The white rim of Lake Tezcuco is 
now nearly three miles beyond the city walls, but, though 
so shrunken and shallow, it still forms a beautiful object 
in the landscape, reflecting in its sparkling waters the 
snowy mountain-peaks of Popocatapetl and Iztacoihuatl 
as they tower seventeen miles away eastward from the 
capital. 

The famous chinampas, or floating gardens, are seldom 
seen — at least, they have ceased to float ; but there are 
multitudes of well-anchored islands dotting the lakes of 
Chalco and Xochimilco, in the environs of the city and 
lining its water-ways. The fruits, flowers and vegetables 
which grow on their rich soil vie with those which were 
brought to the city markets in Montezuma's day. 

Frequently the owner's humble cabin is seen half 
buried in the luxuriant crops, which always grudge it 
room, while moored to the shore or afloat on the tide 
is the rude scow which carries the produce to market. 
Crowds of these boats find their way thither by the Grand 
Canal, running south-east from Tezcuco to Lake Chalco, 
a distance of about forty miles. The level of .the latter 
is so much above that of the former that there is quite 
a swift current running toward the city, and the loaded 
boats have an easy time going to market ; but coming 
back they are poled along by swarthy boatmen or women, 



316 ABOUT MEXICO. 

the depth in lake or in channel nowhere being over five 
feet. 

The markets of Mexico are something wonderful, 
especially in the way of flowers. Huge bouquets of the 
choicest roses, pinks, geraniums, heliotrope, mignonette — 
the flowers of every zone, in fact — artistically arranged, 
sell for a trifle. Everybody buys and wears flowers. The 
pure smokeless air and the even temperature bring 
these exquisite flowers to full perfection in size, tint aud 
color. There are fruits of all lands — apples, pears, cher- 
ries, plums, of the North, with figs, oranges, pomegran- 
ates, pineapples, bananas, of the South, with all the berries 
familiar to us, and some luscious productions of nature 
which can be known only by a visit to this highly-favored 
land. Everything is cheap aud abundant. ' A double price 
is generally asked by the huckster, who expects to be 
beaten down and yields with Mexican politeness to the 
buyer's urgency. 

The city is still partially supplied with water from the 
famous old spring at Chapultepec for which so many 
battles have been fought. Aztec supremacy began with 
its capture and ended after a desperate resistance when 
Cortez cut the aqueduct in 1520. Its health-giving 
streams are now flowing again. The aquadors, or w T ater- 
carriers, throng to fill their earthen pots just as they did 
in the days of Cortez, and the bent figures w r ith their 
loads strapped on their backs look as though they had 
just stepped out of the pictures on some old Egyptian 
monument. 

There are no more beautiful objects in the city than 
the public fountains. One is built of hewn stone richly 
decorated with carvings and statuary and polished until 
it reflects the sunlight like some bright metal. The 



318 ABOUT MEXICO. 

water, cool and clear, flows in streams from every part 
of the marvelous structure, sparkling, dripping, splash- 
ing, until it seems like some gigantic water-nymph just 
emerging with plentitude of blessings from the waves. 

The centre of the city is the Grand Plaza, a plot of 
ground about a thousand feet square with a beautiful 
little garden in the centre. There are pleasant seats 
among the tall old trees, statuary and fountains toss- 
ing their bright spray into the air. There is a music- 
stand about which the crowd gather in the evenings. 

It is not yet a hundred years since the streets of this 
city were lighted at night, and scarcely twenty-five since 
a moonlight walk was safe for either ladies or gentlemen. 
They are as orderly now as those of any city in America. 
The policemen stand with lanterns, about a hundred 
yards apart, all over the city. 

Leading away from the western side of the Plaza is 
the San Cosme avenue, along which Cortez and his dis- 
comfited army fled through the darkness and the rain of 
that sad night in 1520. The palace he built is still owned 
by his descendants. 

On the way to the Paseo Nuevo is the Alameda, a 
beautiful forest-park of ten or twelve acres surrounded 
by high stone Avails and a moat. It is the chief prome- 
nade of the city. Well-kept walks and carriage-roads 
wind about under the grand old beeches, and a massive 
fountain plays in the centre. Here the birds have built 
their nests and reared their young undisturbed for gen- 
erations, and the place is vocal with twitter and song and 
merry shouts of children. 

There are sad memories haunting almost every corner 
of Mexico, and this beautiful Alameda is no exception. 
Long ago, when Rome was mistress here, the fires of the 



TO MEXICO BY RAIL. 319 

Inquisition blazed in this spot, and here, in the sight of 
assembled thousands who came as for a summer holiday, 
fifty victims were burned in a grand auto dafe. In the 
square on which stands the convent of San Domingo 
were the Inquisition buildings, under the care of Domin- 
ican friars ; this is now occupied by the Methodist mis- 
sion. In this square not long ago was an iron post, 
known as " the burning-post/ 7 where heretics were dealt 
with by the Holy Office. The latest public execution was 
in 1815, when General Jose Morelos was put to death 
here. The old Jesuit church in this square is now 
used as a custom-house. 

One hundred years ago Mexico was a city of mon- 
asteries and churches. Full one-half the space enclosed 
within its walls was covered with these various buildings, 
some of them occupying from five to twenty acres of 
ground. They were magnificent structures, the abodes 
of luxury and ease. As the Church increased in wealth 
and influence the monasteries and the convents are said 
to have been hotbeds of vice and sedition. When 
Comonfort was in power, it was found that many of 
these buildings were interfering with public improve- 
ment, and he began the work of demolition by ordering 
a street to be cut through the convent of San Francisco, 
one of the most elegant in the city. In a part of the 
monastery thus divided we find another Protestant church 
worshiping. Some of the exquisitely-polished stones of 
this edifice are said to have been preserved from the wreck 
of Montezuma's house, and many of the pillars are known 
to have been the work of Aztec hands. This vast mon- 
astery was one of the finest buildings of its kind in 
America. It was more honored than any other, as the 
place where the body of Cortez lay in state. 



Of 



20 ABOUT MEXICO. 

The grandest church-building on this continent is the 
cathedral, facing the Plaza. Its white towers, two hun- 
dred feet high, overtop every building in the city. Its 
mere shell cost two millions of dollars, and that, too, in 
a land and an age when labor was very cheap. Scarcely 
a church interior in the world can surpass this in rich 
and costly decoration. The wealth of " the golden realm 
of Mexico " was poured out here without stint. Heavy 
marbles carved by the best masters of Europe were 
brought over the sea and carried by surefooted mules 
over the dizzy heights of the sierras. The elaborately- 
carved choir was made in Mexico, and is estimated to be 
worth a million of dollars. This edifice was begun in 
1573, by order of Philip II., and finished in about a 
hundred years. It is of the Doric order, with three 
entrance-doors on the principal facade, flanked by two 
square open towers and crowned with a dome of fine 
proportions. At the base of one of these towers is the 
celebrated Aztec calendar, an enormous granite monolith, 
which was removed in 1790 from the place in the Plaza 
where it had been buried by the orders of Cortez. 

The cathedral occupies the site of the great Aztec 
temple,* and is five hundred feet long by four hundred 
and twenty wide. " The first object that presents itself 
to one entering it is the altar, erected on a platform in 
the centre of the building ; it is made of highly- wrought 
and highly-polished silver and covered with a profusion 
of crosses and ornaments of pure gold. On each side of 
this altar runs a balustrade, enclosing a space about eight 
feet wide and eighty or a hundred feet long. The bal- 
usters are about four feet high and four inches thick in 

*In 1881 the outlying corner-stones of this old building were dis- 
covered by workmen digging in the neighborhood. 



TO MEXICO BY BAIL. 321 

the largest part ; the hand-rail, from six to eight inches 
wide. Upon the top of this hand-rail, at the distance 
of six or eight feet apart, are images, beautifully wrought 
and about two feet high, used as candelabras. All of 
these — the balustrade, the hand-rail and the images — are 
made of a compound of gold, silver and copper, more 
valuable than silver. It is said that an offer was once 
refused to take this balustrade and replace it with another 
of exactly the same size and workmanship, of pure silver, 
and to give half a million of dollars besides. As you 
walk through the building, on either side there are dif- 
ferent apartments filled from floor to ceiling with paint- 
ings, statues, vases, huge candlesticks, waiters and a 
thousand other articles of gold and silver."* The 
jeweled vestments of the Virgin enshrined in this mag- 
nificent building are said to have cost three millions of 
dollars, while the garments of the priests who minister 
to her on state occasions are proportionate in worth, and 
so heavy that the wearers can scarcely stand under their 
weight when pronouncing the benediction. The cathe- 
dral was but one of seventy or eighty churches in the 
City of Mexico whose wealth and splendor made them 
remarkable in an age when the Church claimed a mo- 
nopoly of the treasures of the world. 

When Cortez was demolishing old Tenochtitlan, as 
the city was then called, it was found to be impossible to 
break up some of the heathen monuments with which it 
abounded, and he therefore ordered them to be buried in 
the great square.. Besides the calendar stones, the old 
stone of sacrifice, with a heavy yoke once used in hold- 
ing fast the victim, was dug up in 1790, also a huge 
stone image of Humming-Bird, with some of the carved 
* Mexico and the United States, by G. D. Abbott, LL.D. 
21 



322 



ABOUT MEXICO. 



capitals of the massive pillars of his temple. These 
relics are now on exhibition in the National Museum 
with many other relics of that day, such as Montezuma's 
feather-shield and cloak and the silken banner once borne 
before his conqueror. The Mexican government has 
forbidden the exportation of the relics with which the 




MERCHANTS' BAZAAR, MEXICO. 

land abounds, but antiquarians can still easily reap a 
rich harvest on this historic ground. 

The houses of Mexico are seldom more than two 
stories high. They are built about a patio — an inte- 
rior open square surrounded by verandas. The entrance 
from the street is into this court, from which the upper 
stories are reached. The style of architecture is Moor- 



TO MEXICO BY RAIL. 32S 



ish, and each block presents a solid front, with windows 
and one door opening into each separate dwelling. The 
soil is very spongy, and, what with floods and earth- 
quakes, many of the foundations have sunken • so that 




SELLER OF BIRD-CAGES, MEXICO. 

church-towers leau and doorways may be a foot below 
the pavement. During the heavy rains of September, 
Lake Tezcuco is apt to overflow and the city to be 
flooded. Indeed, the sidewalks are always damp upon 
the shady side. The lower story of the houses being 
damp and dark, it is the custom to leave it to the ser- 



324 ABOUT MEXICO. 

vants, while the family are domiciled in the second floor, 
and in fine weather betake themselves to the roof. 

All the substantial buildings in Mexico are bright with 
color. Those which are not white stucco are tinted in 
gray, buff or pale green enlivened with various shades 
of red. Some of the churches could be called pink. 
With blocks built with one solid front, it is quite a 
relief to the eye to see a gray house adjoining one 
faced with blue encaustic tiles or pale green. Massive 
carvings and decorations in mosaic-work, balconies and 
latticed windows are also quite effective and do much to 
vary the otherwise sombre architecture. 

The houses in the suburbs are gay with flowering 
vines, and almost any open doorway in the city will 
give a glimpse of the patio, or courtyard, with its cool 
verandas and bright flowers and shrubbery around a 
plashing fountain. 

Among the improvements projected by Maximilian 
was the rebuilding of Mexico on a more healthful site. 
The city is still growing westward, according to his wise 
plan, and the high grounds in the suburbs have quite a 
modern appearance. Thousands of new houses are going 
up and old ones have been remodeled, while real estate 
has almost doubled its value since the life-blood from 
the world's great centres began to pulsate through the 
railroads — those great continental arteries. 

The lumbering diligence will soon disappear from city 
and country, with the picturesque brigand, and the mul- 
titude of beggars who from time immemorial have in- 
fested the capital will vanish in that happy day when 
Yankee ploughs and Protestant Sunday-schools shall be 
domesticated throughout the land. These paupers have 
already been set to work on railroads and other public 



TO MEXICO BY BAIL. 325 

improvements, and a house of correction for young 
delinquents is helpful in reclaiming some of the less 
hardened villains. 

From statements recently published we learn that 
" primary education has been declared compulsory, but 
the law is not enforced. In 1884 there were in Mexico 
8986 public elementary schools, with nearly 500,000 
pupils, and 138 for superior and professional education, 
with an attendance of 17,200. The government spent 
on education in 1884 more than $3,000,000." Thus we 



MEXICAN MAEKET-WOMAN. 

see that education has made slow but steady progress 
since the separation of Church and State, in 1857. At 
that time the University of Mexico — entirely a Church 
institution — was abolished by the republicans, and a 
number of special schools took its place for law, med- 
icine, art, science, agriculture, mines, military and civil 
engineering, etc. In these institutions nearly four thou- 
sand students are now pursuing their studies. Besides 
these are asylums for the blind, the deaf and dumb, and 



326 



ABOUT MEXICO. 



other charities which are supported by private individ- 
uals. With all these opportunities, however, it is still 
true that six-sevenths of the people of Mexico can 
neither read nor write. The business enterprise of the 
country is in the hands of a very few, and those mostly 
foreigners. The higher classes are not inferior in intel- 
ligence and culture to cultivated people in the most 
favored lands. The Mexican is fluent in conversation 
and urbane in manner, but the wide gap between the 




4iiiiiit : ,i 

'.;;••-- uilllnsjjgnnBiU. 



A MEXICAN SENORA. 



aristocracy and the lower orders reveals Mexico's great 
need of a middle class prepared by education for those 
blessings of constitutional liberty which the masses are 
yet trampling under their feet for very ignorance. 

Most of the two hundred and thirty thousand resi- 
dents of the capital are Indians. The kneeling crowd 
in the churches on some saint's day is largely aborigi- 
nal in its make-up, and as democratic as in ancient days. 



TO MEXICO BY BAIL. 327 

The dark-eyed seilora of Spanish blood wrapped in the 
ample folds of her silken reboza bows on the stone 
floor close beside an Indian from the country on the way 
to market with a hen-coop on his back, and the cackling, 
crowing inmates of the coop in no wise disturb the prayers 
of either devotee. Perhaps half the crowd remembered 
to throw a kiss to their old deity, the sun, as they entered 
the shrine where the one true God is professedly wor- 
shiped. There is no Sabbath in Mexico. The sanctity 
of the Lord's day has been given to seasons devoted to 
the adoration of his disciples, and there are so many more 
of these saints' days than of Sabbaths in the year that if 
they had no other reason to obey man rather than God 
this would be sufficient for this pleasure-loving people. 
Formerly they went in the morning to mass, and then in 
the afternoon to a bull-fight — an institution that might 
seem to have come down from the bloodthirsty Aztecs 
did we not know that it was brought from Spain. Mex- 
ico has done better than the mother-country, for these 
disgusting exhibitions have been suppressed by the gov- 
ernment. 

Mexico is the paradise of equestrians ; even the beg- 
gars formerly went on horseback. 

The Paseo de la Riforma is a fine avenue three miles 
long, leading out to the famous castle of Chapultepec, 
beside the Chalco Canal. A ride in one of the pleasure- 
boats on the latter is a favorite pastime. These boats 
are fitted up with cushioned seats in the middle, pro- 
tected by an awning, for passengers, while the boatmen 
use their long poles at either end. On land the w T ay is 
thronged from seven to nine o'clock in the morning aud 
from six to seven in the evening with equestrians and 
gay carriages filled with ladies. The magnificent hous- 



328 ABOUT 3IEXIC0. 

ings of the steeds, rich with trappings of gold and silver 
and silken embroidery, form one of the finest sights of 
the metropolis, to be surpassed in splendor only by the 
dress of their riders. The amount of flashing buttons 
and gold-lace a Mexican gallant can wear is to be meas- 
ured only by the size of his person. His wide sombrero, 
feathered and laced, his spurs and other martial accoutre- 
ments, make him a fine object of observation in the row 
of horsemen who stand together to be gazed at by every 
passer-by. 

The nineteenth century makes itself manifest on some 
of the roads leading out of the city in the shape of 
"horse-cars" — which are crowded most of the time — 
drawn by mules. There are two classes of these cars, 
with the names on the outside. The conductors blow 
a horn at the crossings or to hold up. 

The present castle of Chapultepec was built in 1785 
by the viceroy Galvez on the site of one of the old sum- 
mer-houses of the luxurious chiefs of Mexico, the foun- 
dations of which still remain, and also one of the bathing- 
pools cut in solid rock. It is approached by an avenue 
of gigantic cypress trees. The city is in full view from 
the windows, with its domes and towers, its softly-tinted 
houses interspersed with forest trees. The great valley 
with its embracing mountains, whose tall sentinel-peaks 
rise far to the east, are all reflected in the mirror-lakes 
below from the very base to the summit. Popocatapetl 
and Iztaccihuatl are giant gate-posts in the granite wall 
which surrounds this great plateau. Seen through the 
wonderfully pure and rarefied atmosphere of this high 
table-land, these summits seem closer than they really 
are, being thirty miles apart. Between them Cortez 
made his way, and centuries later General Scott followed. 



TO MEXICO BY RAIL. 



329 



Popocatapetl, five thousand feet higher than Mont 
Blanc 7 is a perfect cone. Now and then a smoke-wreath 




CHAPULTEPEC CASTLE. 



tells of the fires which rage far below its rocky founda- 
tions, but there has been no eruption within three hun- 
dred years. Such was the dread of this smoking moun- 
tain that no Mexican ever scaled it until the Spaniards 
came. Since these adventurous spirits seized Mexico, 



330 



ABOUT MEXICO. 



Popocatapetl has been turned into a vast sulphur-quarry. 
A jet of vapor of twenty horse-power rises about eight 
hundred feet below the edge of the crater, and it is pro- 
posed to use this natural force to hoist the sulphur to the 
top of this vast cavity, instead of employing men to 
climb up in that rarefied atmosphere with heavy loads. 




SUMMIT OF IZTACCIHUATIi, MEXICO. 

Over against Popocatapetl is Iztaccihuatl — the " Wo- 
man in White." Its resemblance to a human figure is 
perceived more readily than that of the Man in the 
Moon. One needs a strong imagination in both cases. 
The giantess lies in her snowy robes, with her feet 
toward her husband and her cold face upturned, her 
hair being simulated by one of the dark forests which 



TO MEXICO BY RAIL. 331 

mantle the lower slopes of these mountains. Recent 
enterprise has found a way of making money out of 
both these old people. Since Popocatapetl produces 
sulphur, his wife has been called upon for ice, of which 
she has enough and to spare. The city of Puebla is sup- 
plied in this way, and a few years more may see its white 
mantle dealt out by piecemeal to cool other heated com- 
munities farther away. 

The Virgin Mary is the tutelar deity of all Mexico ; 
more than two-thirds of the people worship her in the 
form of an Indian maiden. About ten years after the 
surrender of Guatemozin, and while the people were 
still maintaining, though under great difficulties, their old 
tribal relations, it became evident that the religion which 
they had been forced to adopt was growing more and more 
hateful to them, and that unless something was done to 
win their hearts even the compromise with heathenism 
which passed under the name of Christianity would be 
shaken off altogether : Christians had made the name of 
Christ so odious that his beloved message lost all its 
power. 

In the suburbs of the city was a place whither the 
Aztecs once resorted to pour their sorrows into the ear 
of their ancient idol Tomantzin — a sweet word in their 
ears. The last syllable is a title given to persons of 
high rank, but the first part of the name has a mean- 
ing which is dear to every human heart. It is " Our 
Mother." Tomantzin attracted the attention of the dig- 
nitaries of the Church as they studied the Indian ques- 
tion of that day, and soon she was formally adopted by 
the conquerors, and with some changes in dress and the 
development of her history to suit the times she took 
her place in the Church as the queen of heavea. 



332 ABOUT MEXICO. 

Tomantzin was introduced in her new character to her 
old friends with an ingenuity admirable if not commend- 
able. One December night in 1531 a converted Indian 
— Juan Diego by name — was praying alone on the hill of 
Guadaloupe, about two miles from the city gate, where 
the people had always worshiped Tomantzin. As he 
knelt under the starlit sky the Virgin Mary appeared 
to him robed in white, a great light shining about her. 
Yet, wonder of wonders ! she was no longer white, but 
appeared as an Indian woman and spoke of his people 
as her own people and in their mother-tongue. 

"Go," she said, "to the bishop of Mexico and tell 
him it is my wish that a church should be built for me 
on this spot," 

When Diego recovered from his surprise, he hastened 
to the bishop's palace with his strange news. It was 
received with suitable incredulity and passed by. But 
Diego went back to the spot hallowed by the beautiful 
vision, and, to his great joy, the Virgin appeared again, 
repeating her commands to the bishop, and adding that 
the Church would never prosper in Mexico until her 
message was obeyed. To give weight to her words, a 
fountain burst forth from the spot where she stood. 
Again Juan Diego went to the bishop, who still doubt- 
ed. He wanted some sign to prove that the story was 
true. When the Indian again visited the hill, he saw 
the Virgin near the spring, but this time she bade him 
take to the faithless bishop a quantity of full-blown roses 
as a proof of her creative power. The barren rock now 
burst forth in bloom, though it was the Mexican winter, 
when roses did not nourish in those cold uplands. With 
the miraculous roses in his blanket the Indian hastened 
back to the bishop, when, lo ! as he opened his treasure, 



TO MEXICO BY RAIL. 333 

he saw imprinted on the coarse woolen fabric the face 
that had thrice appeared to him on the hill. This was 
accepted as convincing proof that the Virgin had espoused 
the cause of the Indians. Belief in Our Lady of Guada- 
loupe now became universal among her countrymen, al- 
though the fraud of the whole story is frankly acknowl- 
edged by many intelligent and loyal Roman Catholics in 
Mexico. 

On the spot was built a church which became the 
richest in this land of rich churches. Its great wealth 
is not derived from the mines, but from the earnings of 
the abject poor, in whose behalf the Indian Virgin came. 
Half the women in Mexico, and thousands of the men, 
are named after this lady, and scarcely a house in the 
land lacks her blanket-image enshrined in the most hon- 
ored place. Hundreds of chapels have been erected in 
her honor in every city and town in Mexico. 

The anniversary of the Virgin's appearance is still 
celebrated by a great pilgrimage to her shrine. Along 
the road from the capital to this spot were constructed 
fourteen beautiful shrines, each commemorating some 
fact in the history of Christ. Thousands of devotees 
can be seen crawling on their bare knees on the hard 
pavement, saying their prayers as they go painfully 
along. The highest dignitaries in the land were wont 
to join in this celebration. As many as one hundred 
thousand people came on foot from the surrounding 
country to join in the ceremonies and to bring their 
offerings. Those who were too poor to pay for lodgings 
would sleep on the sacred soil, and thousands thus camped 
out rolled in their blankets, acres of sleeping humanity. 
This pilgrimage is falling into disuse. The great neglect 
the occasion, and the poor have less time to spend thus 



334 ABOUT MEXICO. 

than in ante-railroad times. In fact, the Mexican Rail- 
way has usurped the road over which bare-kneed pilgrims 
traveled, and the shrines are falling into decay since, with 
Maximilian and Carlotta, clerical rule passed away. 

There has always been a great rivalry between the 
Virgin of Guadaloupe and the Virgin brought over from 
Spain, Nostra Senora de los Remedios. The latter is an 
ugly wooden doll about a foot long. It is said to have 
once belonged to Cortez, and to have been set up by him 
in the old heathen temple of Mexico. Some of the Span- 
iards rescued the image at the time of their conflict with 
the Aztecs, and it was taken away with other valuables 
and lost in the wreck of the noche triste. When, some 
time afterward, it was found in the heart of a huge mag- 
uey-plant on the top of a bare hill, it was claimed that 
the Virgin had saved her image by a miracle, and hence- 
forth she was shrined in a golden maguey-flower and 
worshiped as divine. Many a time the wooden Virgin, 
seated in a gilded coach and drawn by a nobleman of the 
highest rank, has been carried through the streets of the 
capital, while the viceroy humbly walked behind. 

The political opinions of these rival Virgins are sup- 
posed to be very marked. The republicans were shrewd 
enough to win the Lady of Guadaloupe to their side at 
the beginning of the contest, while the Lady de los Re- 
medios was counted upon as a true Spaniard in her sym- 
pathies. Each of them had a general's dress and marched 
with her party when they paraded the streets. 

At one time, when the conservatives were despairing 
of their cause, they began to threaten the Lady de los 
Remedios for her indifference to their entreaties. They 
told her that if she would hear their prayers she might 
keep her situation in the cathedral and wear her jeweled 



TO MEXICO BY BAIL. 335 

petticoats in peace; if she still continued deaf to their 
prayers, they would put her in plain clothes and ship 
her to Spain. At last ruin stared them in the face. 
The wooden doll was taken down, and bearded men, 
like children in a pet with their toy, bought a passport 
for her to her native land. She was actually on her way 
there in disgrace when the authorities came to their senses 
and ordered the disgraced image to be returned to the 
church. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

THE LAND: ITS PRODUCTS AND CITIES. 

AFTER more than half its territory had been taken 
by its grasping neighbor the United States, Mexico 
still was about four times the size of France, with a 
coast-line of fifty-eight hundred miles and a common 
boundary with the United States of eighteen hundred 
miles. 

Exclude the Rio Grande, which divides the two natious 
for nearly half this distance, and Mexico may be called a 
riverless country. The magnificent harbors which open 
along its western coast are just beginning to be known, 
though several of them are among the finest in the world. 
Guaymas, a village at the mouth of a small river empty- 
ing into the Gulf of California, is now the terminus of 
a railroad which gives direct communication with St. 
Louis, Philadelphia, Xew York and all our great cities. 
An active trade is springing up which will soon bring 
the place into competition with some of its better-known 
neighbors. From San Bias, farther south, on the Pacific 
coast, a road runs eastward to Tampico, on the Gulf of 
Mexico. Acapulco, another railroad terminus, has a 
noble land-locked harbor, and is likely to be one of 
the queen-cities of the South-west. It is probable that 
Mexico, so long closed to a free commerce, will first be 
opened on the north, on its landward side, and that its 

336 



THE LAND: ITS PRODUCTS AND CITIES. 337 

lack of water-communication will be more than made 
up by several great railroad systems converging toward 




ON THE CANAL, NEAR MEXICO CITY. 

the ancient capital and linking the sleepy old cities 
along their routes with the wide-awake world outside. 
22 



338 



ABOUT MEXICO. 



Habits and customs which are wrought into the very 
life of the people are fast giving way before American 
ideas. In spite of the national bugbear of annexation, 
Mexico is to-day in a receptive mood. She seems to 
stand like one of her 
own Indians who come 
out of their cabins to 
see the train go by. 
Gaunt and speechless, 
with faces as unmoved 




as are those 

statues, they wave a per- 
missive hand to the bold 
intruder as they stand gaz- 
ing at this wonder of our rushing age. If old Popocat- 
apetl, the home of the gods, is safely tunneled for a new 
track, and the holy hill of Cholula is cut away to make 
room for the inevitable locomotive, innovations like 
American looms and ploughs and reapers will surely 
be tolerated in old Mexico, and the modern express- 
wagon will be permitted to take the place of the prim- 
itive ox-cart. 



THE LAND: ITS PRODUCTS AND CITIES. 339 

There are immense districts, however, where such for- 
eign wares are still unknown. One has only to find one 
of these out-of-the-way places to see husbandry carried 
on as it was when Joseph was Pharaoh's overseer in 
Egypt. If by chance an American plough makes its 
way there, it is apt to be broken up for its iron, since 
that can be turned into cash, while the farmer plods con- 
tentedly on in the rut his ancestors made five hundred 
years ago. But the lower classes in town and in city 
have been aroused to new life. Those who used to beg 
or to steal because they had nothing else to do can now 
earn an honest living with pickaxe and spade along the 
route of some of the new railroads. There has been a 
very perceptible change not only in arrests for crime, but 
m that turbulent spirit which found vent in endless rev- 
olutions. It was estimated that in 1883 more than 
fifty thousand Mexicans were at work digging, felling 
trees, building bridges and cutting roads through forests 
and over mountains. Many of these had never before 
done a full day's work. At least six railroads are now 
heading toward as many cities on the Pacific shore of 
Mexico, while the country is crossed by half that num- 
ber of transcontinental roads. 

There are but two seasons in Mexico — the wet season 
and the dry season. The mean temperature in January 
is 52.5° Fahrenheit; in July, 65.3°. From October to 
May there is but little rain. As the heavy floods of 
autumn are left behind the streams then swollen by 
freshets dry up, the meadows look parched, the shrubs 
wither and on the high plateau clouds of dust fill the 
air. In some parts of the country water becomes 
scarce, even for culinary purposes, and the precious fluid 
may be seen traveling in barrels behind the donkey and 



340 ABOUT MEXICO. 

its master from some stream to the home. In May there 
are frequent showers, and by September tiriy rivulets 
become raging torrents leaping from shelf to shelf of 
their rocky beds through some great crevice in the 
mountains. 

On the Pacific coast the steep sides of the Cordilleras 
are cleft by long valleys running east and west and open- 



WATER-PEDDLEE,, MEXICO. 

ing out directly on the sea. The surf often thunders up to 
the very mouth of the deep mountain-glen till the green 
of its perpetual spring is moistened by the spray. 

A large part of Mexico has been denuded of its for- 
ests. The Spaniards neglected the system of irrigation 
used by the more provident natives, and many parts of 
the country once profitably cultivated are now lying 



THE LAND: ITS PRODUCTS AND CITIES. 341 



waste. The great naked mountains and the leafless 
character of much of the vegetation give to some por- 
tions of Mexico a sterile appearance which always makes 
an impression on strangers. Some varieties of prickly 
pear grow to the size of quite large trees. The fluted 
columns of the organ-cactus tower up to the height of 
sixty feet in favorable soil. The prickly-pear cactus is 




GATHERING THE JUICE OF THE MAGUEY FOR PULQUE. 

used for hedges, and, as it bristles with thorns and spines, 
intruders are kept at a respectful distance. The Indians, 
who are very fond of the fruit of this cactus, go out in 
August, when it is ripe, and hook it down with forked 
sticks. Mexico seems to be the home of the cacti. Their 
grotesque forms are seen everywhere, brightened in their 
season with beautiful blossoms — pink, pale-yellow, warm 
tints of red or deep gold. 



342 ABOUT MEXICO. 

One of the most common plants is the maguey {Agave 
Americana). This grows wild everywhere and is useful 
to its last particle. It furnishes thread, needles, cord, ropes, 
thatch and paper, and also bears a palatable fruit when its 
blossoms are allowed to come to perfection . Its chief com- 
mercial value is in its sap, out of which pulque, the nation- 
al beverage, is made. The agave matures very slowly, 
needing about ten years of growth to become productive. 
The Indians who have watched it know to a day when 
the blossom will be ready for the knife. The whole 
heart of the plant is then cut out, leaving nothing but 
the stiff outside circle of leaves. Into the deep cavity 
thus left oozes the sap, which is carefully dipped out two 
or three times each day. The basin of the wounded plant 
will hold a pailful of the sweet honey- water. When this 
ferments, as it does in twenty-four hours, it becomes 
pulque (pronounced pool-hay). The sap from one plant 
will often run in this way for three months. The plant 
then dies, and others spring up from its roots, to run 
the same course. 

Pulque is produced in large quantities about Puebla 
and the capital. When ready for use, this beverage has 
a taste which is a cross between sour milk and slightly- 
tainted beef; it is seldom palatable on first acquaintance, 
but a relish for it is soon acquired, and drunkenness from 
its excessive use is common. The Indians are its natural 
victims. Humboldt says that in his day " the police in 
Mexico sent around tumbrels to collect the drunkards to 
be found stretched out in the streets. These Indians are 
carried to the principal guard-house. In the morning an 
iron ring is put on their ankles, and they are made to 
sweep the streets for three days." 

Mexico has well been called an "agricultural cosmos;" 



THE LAND: ITS PRODUCTS AND CITIES. 343 

there is not a plant of any zone or of any soil which can- 
not flourish within its borders. All European cereals are 
at home on the table-lauds, with the fruits and the forest- 
trees of other temperate regions. In the forests below 
one hundred and fourteen varieties of timber suitable 
for cabinet-work have been counted, with seventeen kinds 
of oil-bearing plants and several valuable species of gum 




SHOP FOR THE SALE OF PULQUE. 

trees, of which the india-rubber variety is a specimen. 
Sugar is a staple crop, and coffee, introduced duriug this 
century, is very productive. The government has re- 
cently ordered two millions of fast-growing trees to be 
planted within four years. Among these is the eucalyp- 
tus, which flourishes well in the lake-regions of Mex- 
ico. 

The people are mostly vegetarians ; maize and beans, 



344 ABOUT MEXICO. 

with pepper, form their main diet. The banana has 
been a wonderful boon to the poor of this country; 
four thousand pounds of bananas may be gathered 
from ground which yields thirty pounds of wheat. Within 
a year after the suckers are set out the plant is in full 
bearing, which means three crops in a year. 

Nothing in Mexico has so fastened upon the world's 
attention as have its wonderful mines; between A. D. 
1519 and A. D. 1826 precious metals to the value of 
$2,588,732,000 had been taken from them. Silver 
and gold were exported by the ton. At the close of the 
eighteenth century the famous old vita madre, or mother- 
vein, of Guanajuato had yielded one-fifth of all the sil- 
ver then in circulation in the world. Most of this treas- 
ure found its way to Spain, but vast quantities of it were 
hoarded up in the churches built everywhere in Mexico. 
Candlesticks of gold too heavy for one man to lift, pyxes, 
crosses, statues, of precious metals encrusted with gems 
and most elaborately wrought, adorn the shrines, whose 
wealth of ornamentation exceeds anything known else- 
where. When the mines of St. Eulalia, near Chihuahua, 
were in full operation years ago, there was a tax of 
twelve and a half cents on every eight ounces of silver 
drawn from the mines, and in fifty years the proceeds 
had reared one of the grandest churches in Mexico. 

Many of the richest mines in the country — those of 
St. Eulalia among the number — have been closed for 
generations. In the eager search for " bonanzas " the 
owners passed by a great deal of valuable ore rather than 
work for it. The government has recently issued a per- 
mit to an enterprising Yankee to reopen this old mine. 
He has erected a mill in Chihuahua fitted up with mod- 



THE LAND: ITS PRODUCTS AND CITIES. 345 

ern machinery, and after tunneling the mountain in two 
directions has turned out from fifteen to twenty-five 
thousands of dollars in silver bullion in a month, with 
a prospect of doing better when the capacity of his works 
is increased. Other metals seem to be waiting for ener- 
getic miners. Quantities of tin are found in Michoacan 
and Jalisco, and a ton of this metal was recently brought 
to the United States from Durango. In the same neigh- 
borhood is the famous mountain of magnetic-iron ore — 
a treasure of which the Aztecs never knew the use, and 
which the Spaniards were too much occupied with gold- 
hunting to consider. 

Old Mexican mines have entered on a fresh lease of 
productiveness of late years, and new ones will soon be 
opened. Already the miner's toil is lightened by modern 
helps, and men are not used as beasts of burdens. Time 
was when all these tons of ore were carried up in baskets 
slung on men's backs and supported by a band across the 
forehead. The amount of labor required may be imag- 
ined when it is said that one of these old shafts pierced 
the earth's crust to a depth of sixteen hundred feet, and 
that it annually yielded five hundred tons of silver and 
one and a half tons of gold. 

Except when drunk, the Mexican Indians are taciturn 
and patient under their burdens, though taught by ages 
of oppression to be distrustful. They seem to be con- 
tented with their lot, though it must be said that as a 
people they have in them great possibilities of obstinacy. 
They are slow workers, but faithful and persevering. 
They look like a conquered people. Their faces are as 
sad, their hearts as dark and their minds as ignorant as 
when the sun went down on their tribes three hundred 
years ago. Their humility is often most touching. The 



346 ABOUT MEXICO. 

whites have given them the title of gentes sin razon — 
" men without reason " — and they accept the reproachful 
term as readily as it is given. 

The Indians never deserve so well to be called " men 
without reason " as when they give themselves up to the 
celebration of some feast-day of the Church. The ex- 
travagance of a poor man on such occasions, especially 
when he frequents the pulqueria, or dram-shop, is mar- 
velous. Money is borrowed in advance, to be returned in 
labor ; debt thus becomes the bane of the Mexican peas- 
antry. The debtors (mozos) make up a large part of the 
population, and a more hopeless slavery it is not possible 
to imagine. Another great source of this and other 
evils is the extravagant marriage-fee demanded by the 
priests. This is never less than fourteen dollars ; and if 
this ceremony is not altogether dispensed with — as it is in 
a majority of cases — a young man begins his career as a 
mozo by borrowing money to defray the expenses of his 
wedding. 

In love of wife and children Mexicans of every class 
are not excelled anywhere. If Diego or Juan is at work 
on one of the new roads, thither he transports his wife 
and his babies. He has a shelter for them somewhere 
among the cactus or mesquite and stunted palms, or lie 
burrows in a hillside or has a little thatch amid the 
brush, where, though not very comfortable according to 
our ideas, he has a home. Here the little brown children 
roll in the sun with the pigs, who have accompanied the 
family in their migration. The pony, if they have one, 
is tethered close by, and the inevitable burro, or donkey, 
goes hobbling about, as long-suifering as the Indian and 
with something like his history. 

The ordinary homes of the common people are gen- 



THE LAND: ITS PRODUCTS AND CITIES. 347 



erally built of adobe, or, if near a forest," of pine-slabs 
leaning against a framework of logs or supported by a 
tree. The roof is a thatch of cornstalks or branches 

of trees or the stiff, 
& £S§*JU& sword-like leaves 



Sl^L of the agave. Very 




NATIVE INDIAN ABODE. 

few of these hovels have doors, and none of them have 
windows. A heap of stones in the corner or a great flat 
slab in the centre serves for a fireplace on the earthen 
floor, and the smoke easily finds its way out through the 
cracks. Corn is ground between two stones, after the 
simple ancestral fashion. Tortillas — cakes made of 
crushed corn and water, baked hard — aud rich brown 
beans, called frijols, hot with pepper, form the staple 
food. A few unglazed pots and dishes, a rude pitcher or 
two for water, gourds for cups, a tortilla-trough and 
kneadiog-stone, handed down perhaps for generations, 
with mats for seats and bedding, form all the furniture 
of the hovels in which most of the people live. The 
making and the eating of tortillas, however, are not con- 
fined to the poor. These are points on which all Mex- 
icans are united. Twenty-five years ago chairs and tables 



348 



ABOUT MEXICO. 



were so little used in Mexico by the poorer people as to 
be more ornamental than useful; they preferred to sit 
on their heels or to lounge on the floor. Very few had 
knives or forks, and a spoon was always made of a tor- 
tilla folded together and dipped in the family-dish. The 
food and the clothing in such a home are generally home- 




MAKJNG TORTILLAS, MEXICO. 

made. The women are industrious, and manage to weave 
with their old Aztec looms such cloth as their ancestors 
gave to Cortez by the bale. The apparatus looks like a few 
sticks tied together, and when not in use hangs on the wall. 



THE LAND: ITS PRODUCTS AND CITIES. 349 

While some of the Indians of Mexico have pushed 
their way up to positions of influence, and sometimes of 
wealth, they are generally very poor, herding together in 
the cities in a quarter of their own, a people within a 
people. They number about five millions — more than 
half the entire population — while Indian blood predom- 
inates in the mestizo, or mixed, race of the country, the 
Creoles, or Europeans and their descendants, forming not 




MEXICAN WATER- WORKS. 



more than one-tenth of the inhabitants of Mexico. The 
Toluca Valley, about forty miles west of the capital, is 
owned by Indian pueblos, or corporations. Near Cuer- 
navaca, where Cortez fought a fierce battle with the na- 



350 ABOUT MEXICO. 

tives, is a village which has successfully resisted Spanish 
influences and maintained its old institutions to this day. 
Nor is this a solitary instance. The Indians are not dying 
out nor losing their tribal identity ; they are a hardy race, 
and still thrive under treatment which blotted out the 
islanders among whom the Spaniards first settled. They 
often live to be a hundred years old; the women are es- 
pecially long-lived. Few of either sex are deformed. 

The whole race of village Indians, Aztecs and others, 
are an industrious people. Men and women share in the 
burdens of caring for the family ; a woman may work in 
the fields, but the heavier part of out-door labor comes 
on the men. They all seem to be natural burden-bearers. 
Those of them who are too poor to own one of their lit- 
tle unshod ponies, or even a " burro," will all day carry 
on their own backs a load of from seventy-five to a hun- 
dred pounds. They take short steps and go on their long 
journeys up and down hill in a jog-trot, returning satis- 
fied if they have earned a dollar or two at most. Their 
peculiar tenacity of purpose is shown by the fact that 
they are apt to go to the very place they set out for, 
even though they could make as much money by selling be- 
fore they reached there. A missionary tells of a poor fel- 
low who brought a hundred pounds of charcoal to market. 
He had spent a week altogether cutting and burning 
it, carried it twenty-five miles on his back and sold it 
for seventy-five cents. Some of these laborers earn from 
twelve and a half to thirty cents a day ; others, loaded 
with debt, work for a bare subsistence and scarcely see 
money from one year's end to another. 

Mexico has never been a densely-populated country. 
On an all-day journey by rail through the State of 
Chihuahua the vast, grassy plain over which the road 



THE LAND: ITS PRODUCTS AND CITIES. 351 

passes, bounded on either side by fantastic mountain- 
peaks, has scarcely a sign of human habitation except 
the station-buildings along the track. Immense herds 
of cattle and numerous flocks of sheep are seen quietly 
feeding around some lake, as though they had been tak- 
ing care of themselves for generations. This is not the 
case, however, for somewhere, hidden in a clump of trees 
or on a sightly hill, the comfortable mansion of some lord- 
ly proprietor (haciendado) arises surrounded by fields and 
orchards and a village of his peon herdsmen. Per- 
haps all the land which has been in sight for a whole 
day has been the property of one family for a century 
or more. Slavery was abolished when Mexican inde- 
pendence was secured, but the evil effects of the hacienda 
system — as this one-man power is called — remained. 

Up to this time the towns and the hamlets of Mexico 
look very much as they have looked for the past three 
hundred years — bits of old Spain dropped into the New- 
World soil amid the mouldering ruins of its ancient 
civilization. Forty miles north of the capital the Mex- 
ican Central Railroad passes Tula, one of the Toltec 
cities which was ruined before Cortez came. Here, 
among the fields near the famous pyramids of the sun 
and moon, thousands of little images are found by 
following the ploughman as he turns over the sod; 
they are supposed to be votive offerings once brought to 
this old Toltec shrine. No two faces are alike, but the 
sad expression worn now by the Indians is characteristic 
of these clay heads. Arrows, pottery and other remains 
show that this plain was in bygone ages the home of a 
large population. 

Most'of the interesting cities of Mexico are, or soon 
will be, reached by railroads. Monterey, one of the 



352 ABOUT MEXICO. 

oldest cities on this continent, is on the Mexican Nation- 
al Railroad, about six hundred miles north-east from the 
capital. It stands at the head of a beautiful valley, on 
the Rio Catarina, one of the tributaries of the Rio Grande. 
It is entirely shut in by mountains whose strange shapes 
give to the scenery a peculiar character which cannot be 
lost when the tide of travel shall sweep away many other 
landmarks. These frowning summits are so high that 
the city nestling near at their base is still more than six- 
teen hundred feet above the sea. Streams of pure cold 
water flow through the streets from springs not far away. 
The city, embowered with orchards and gardens, has the 
same Moorish architecture seen elsewhere, while the fort- 
ress-like houses aud the flat roofs mark it as one of the 
cities of olden times. A new cathedral, begun twenty 
years ago, is yet to be finished. The old one stands on 
the plaza, a pleasant spot beautified by the hapless Max- 
imilian with winding walks, fountains and parterres of 
bright flowers. 

Chihuahua is a city about twelve hundred miles north- 
west from the capital and two hundred miles from El 
Paso. The Mexican Central Railroad was opened 
through this place in March, 1884, making communica- 
tion complete between this point and the City of Mexico. 

Chihuahua had been subject to many inroads from the 
wild Indians of the North, and for years no enterprise 
was safe • now, what with the new railroads, telegraphs, 
horse-cars, omnibuses, and the whir of American ma- 
chinery in mills and factories, old times and new are in 
strange juxtaposition. The city stands in a beautiful 
valley opening toward the north between the spurs of 
the Sierra Madre. It is in the same latitude as is South- 
ern Florida, but, being more than five thousand feet 



354 ABOUT MEXICO. 

above the sea, the climate is almost perfect all the year 
round and well suited to invalids. It is regularly built, 
with the principal streets wide, straight and swept clean 
by convict labor. The plaza has its beautiful flowers 
and shrubbery and is surrounded by a broad promenade. 
In the centre is a great fountain whose large, deep basin 
overflows with pure water brought from an artificial 
reservoir in the mountains, six miles away. Morning 
and evening, with tall earthen jars poised on their heads, 
the swarthy Mexican women come to get their supply 
of water in this public square. The massive stone arches 
of the aqueduct which brings the stream are quite a feat- 
ure in the suburban landscape of Chihuahua. Continu- 
ous house-fronts are quite as common here as in other 
cities. It has its poor quarter, where this class huddle 
together in miserable hovels, but most of the city has a 
bright and cheerful appearance. Houses are built of 
light-gray stone, with the owner's monogram carved 
over the doorway, while gilded bars defending the 
windows cut in the heavy walls tell of days when 
every dwelling was a fortress. 

The police-force of the Mexican cities is generally 
very efficient. In Chihuahua watchmen walk the city 
all day with revolvers ready for action ; at night they don 
a great serape, shoulder a gun and patrol the streets with 
huge square lanterns, calling out to each other with os- 
tentatious regularity ; and woe betide the offender who is 
caught disturbing the public peace and quiet in a less 
orderly manner than they do themselves ! The next 
day finds him hard at work in the chain-gang, from 
which he never escapes until he has suffered the ut- 
most rigor of the law. 

Six hundred miles farther south, on the same rail- 



THE LAND: ITS PRODUCTS AND CITIES. 355 

road, is the city of Zacatecas, capital of the State of the 
same name. It is built in a cleft in the naked moun- 
tains so characteristic of this region and directly over a 
rich vein of silver. It is so situated that it does not 
come into view until one is within a mile and a half of 
it, and then only in sections unless one has climbed the 
hills to look down upon it. A number of churches and 
public buildings make a fine appearance. 

Guanajuato has another of the curiously picturesque 
situations which Nature has provided for the cities of 
Mexico. It was founded by the Spaniards in 1545 for 
mining purposes. It is approached by a deep canon. In 
what seems to be a collection of villages clinging to the 
steep mountain-sides are the houses of at least sixty thou- 
sand people. Along the winding streets or perched here 
and there on some " coign of vantage " are well-built 
houses of hewn stone. Deep as is the valley where 
these are situated, the whole place stands six thousand 
feet above the sea. 

Guanajuato is the place where Hidalgo raised the 
standard of revolt in 1809 after gaining over the gar- 
rison, and not far away is the small village of Dolores, 
where he had his home. 

Queretaro, also on the Mexican Central Railroad, is 
another city among the clouds, a thousand feet higher 
than Guanajuato. The whole State of which this city 
is the capital is remarkable for its fine scenery and its 
salubrious climate. Queretaro is furnished with water 
brought thither from springs six miles away. An aque- 
duct two miles long crosses the meadows on arches ninety 
feet high and joins a tunnel in the neighboring hills. 
This noble structure was built at his own expense by 
one of the early viceroys. In this beautiful city Max- 



356 ABOUT MEXICO. 

imilian took refuge with a few followers, and on a hill 
in its suburbs he was put to death. The place is also 
noted for the treaty of peace which was concluded here 
between Mexico and the United States in 1848. 

At Lagos the Mexican Central branches off to the 
west, to San Bias. 

Halfway to the Pacific coast is the quaint old city of 
Guadalajara, in the State of Jalisco. The bare brown 
hills by which it is surrounded would look dreary enough 
but for the gold of the sunlight and the blue of the sky, 
nowhere brighter than in Mexico. The city is two miles 
square and is laid out with straight wide streets crossing 
at right angles, with narrow sidewalks and one-story flat- 
roofed houses built about a large courtyard. It is a city 
of churches. The sky-line is everywhere broken by 
domes and spires with minarets and round towers built 
by men who learned architecture from the Moors. It 
has a beautiful alameda and many fine old trees, with 
arcades surrounding the public square in the centre of 
the city. Dominating all is the great cathedral with its 
decorations of blue and gold and a spire two hundred 
feet high ; this building was very much injured by the 
great earthquake in the early part of this century. 
Among so many demolished churches and churches at 
auction and churches given away, it is remarkable that 
Guadalajara is building a new one which when complet- 
ed will be very magnificent. To preserve the building 
from earthquakes a huge cross has been erected within 
the walls. 

Guadalajara boasts sixteen public squares and many 
fine public buildings, the State university, the mint, the 
palaces of the governor and the archbishop and the 
largest theatre in America. Nor is it behind in modern 



358 ABOUT MEXICO. 

improvements — electric lights, telephones and telegraphs, 
besides the railroad which links it to the Atlantic and the 
Pacific, and a college for girls. Outside the city limits 
are a number of factories, Guadalajara being the chief 
centre for wool and cotton industries. 

Puebla, nestled among the cloud-capped summits over- 
looking the Gulf of Mexico, ranks next to the capital 
in size and importance. From this situation, seven thou- 
sand feet above the sea, is a magnificent outlook. The cli- 
mate is unsurpassed even in this land of perpetual spring. 
Puebla is connected by a branch road with the railway 
from Vera Cruz to the capital. Its wide, clean, well- 
drained streets, imposing churches, substantial, houses 
and delightful surroundings of hill and grove are pleas- 
ant to look upon whichever way the eye may turn. The 
whole place had an air of thrift and enterprise before the 
great awakening of recent years. Its cotton- and flour- 
ing-mills, foundries, porcelain- and glass-works and the 
manufacture of pulque make it quite a business centre, 
but it is chiefly noted as one of the holy cities of Mex- 
ico. Its cathedral is proudly called " De los Angelos," 
from the old tradition that after its massive towers had 
been upreared the angels came down each night and 
helped to decorate the magnificent interior. Its pillars, 
ninety feet high, support a graceful dome from whose 
centre hangs a ponderous chandelier whose solid gold 
and silver are tons in weight. The high altar, of trans- 
lucent marble inlaid with gold, was a gift of one of the 
bishops. Some of its great stones are as exquisite in 
color and finish as is any gem in a lady's ring. The 
image of the Virgin shrined here is almost life-size, and 
is so bedizened with pearls and emeralds and diamonds as 
to be worth millions. Delicate and airy wood-carvings, 



THE LAND: ITS PRODUCTS AND CITIES. 359 

splendid tapestries wrought in old Spain by royal hands, 
paintings by old masters, a wilderness of statuary gilded 
and graven and sanctified by years of worship, make the 
cathedral of Puebla one of the sights of Mexico. Here, 
also, in a city of churches, convents and priests, was a 
branch of the Inquisition, under the care of Dominican 
friars ; its buildings have recently been purchased from 
the government by the Methodist mission. One of the 
gilded rooms of which they took possession had in its 
walls a door which had been plastered up. This was 
knocked open, and a room was found in which were 
many human skeletons. The hapless victims had evi- 
dently been let down through a well-like opening over- 
head and left alone to die, the living among the dead. 
From the courtyard of this terrible prison thirteen cart- 
loads of human bones were taken before it could be made 
suitable for the purposes of the mission. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 
"A LIGHT THAT SHINETH IN A DARK PLACE." 




TN 1524, 
J- when Cor- 
1 tez was forg- 
ing the chains 
of Mexico and 



con- 
quered city, a flame 
burst out in Europe 
which soon grew to a 
general conflagration. 
The peasantry of Ger- 
many were literally interpreting 
God's good news of " liberty to the 
captive and the opening of the prison 
to them who are bound." The printing-press stood 
ready to speak for them, and thousands of handbills — 
probably the first ever thrown to the winds — were scat- 
tered broadcast, proclaiming the gospel of freedom for 
the people. The hard-working Germans were roused to 
a new sense of their manhood. When the spokesman 
of their great multitude came to plead their cause with 

360 



"LIGHT THAT SHINETH IN A DARK PLACE." 361 

the army of the Empire, he had an open Bible in his 
hand, and, pointing to the sacred pages, he exclaimed, 
solemnly, " We ask nothing which is not promised to us 
here by the founders of Christianity." In time these 
peasants were crushed, but others rose in their stead; 
their inspiring thought lived on. The Reformation bore 
♦ fruit in new longings for liberty. Long-buried truths 
dropped in many a crevice of old foundations had been 
for two hundred years silently making their way into 
the light and the air ; they were now forcing apart each 
hindering clod and stone, and proving that 

"One germ of life is mightier 

Than a whole universe of death." 

Ancient thrones and citadels fast gave way before the 
new principle that power should be invested in the 
people. From the outset the ruling classes traced this 
idea to the Bible, which Luther had just then put into 
the hands of the people in their own language, and both 
the book and its reader were hated accordingly. 

There seems to be a natural antagonism between the 
Church of Rome and a Bible which common people 
can read. Throughout Christendom this precious book 
was for centuries concealed from the masses in a dead 
language, until it became an almost forgotten part of 
that " whole armor of God " which he has commanded 
his Church to take in her spiritual warfare. The gospel 
which had been preached to the poor had thus a political 
outcome over which kings, priests, and even Reformers 
themselves, trembled. It is true that Protestantism be- 
came at times a political engine, but God worked through 
it in fulfillment of his own word : " Every valley shall 
be exalted and every hill brought low." 



362 ABOUT MEXICO. 

It was in the thirteenth century, when all Europe was 
arousing from the torpor of the Dark Ages, that trans- 
lations of the Bible into several vernacular languages 
■first appeared. In this great movement Spain was a 
leader. King Alphonso the Wise caused a Spanish 
translation of the Bible to be made in 1260 "for the 
improvement of the Castilian language;" this manu-< 
script may be seen in the library of the Escorial. In 
1478, fourteen years before Columbus discovered Amer- 
ica, we hear of a Spanish Bible published in the city of 
Valencia. The feeling of the priesthood over this en- 
terprise is shown by the fact that the work was sup- 
pressed and the impression burned. Scarcely a copy 
escaped. 

But little seems to have been known, however, of 
these translations by the common people, who most 
needed them ; for when Francis de Enzinas, a pious 
Spaniard, desired for his countrymen the treasure of 
God's word in their mother-tongue, he went to Witten- 
berg to be, as he supposed, a pioneer translator of the 
New Testament into Spanish. He did the work under 
the eye of Melanchthon. The first edition, dedicated to 
Charles V., was published in the year 1544. De Soto, 
the confessor of the emperor, warned him of the dan- 
gerous tendencies of this book, and poor Enzinas, though 
he had been promised the royal patronage, was arrested 
and thrown into prison. The printing of one verse of 
his translation in capital letters nearly cost the bold man 
his life. It was Romans iii. 28 : " Therefore we con- 
clude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds 
of the law." 

" For what reason," said the inquisitors, when they 
tormented him with questions, " have you had this 



"LIGHT THAT SHINMTH IN A DARK PLACE." 363 

Lutheran maxim set in capital letters? It is a very 
grave offence, and deserves burning." 

" This doctrine was not devised in Luther's brain," 
replied Enzinas ; " its source is the mysterious throne of 
the eternal Father, and it was revealed to the Church by 
the ministry of St. Paul for the salvation of every one 
that believeth." 

While in confinement and in the face of death at the 
stake Enzinas translated the Psalms and preached the 
gospel to all who would hear him. 

It is pleasant to record the escape of this bold con- 
fessor after a long imprisonment. He had become very 
sad one night, depressed in mind and body, and, going 
to the grating of his cell for air, he discovered the door 
to be unfastened. He passed through this, and found 
the second unlocked also, and then the third, which 
opened into the street, as though an angel had unbarred 
them as did Peter's heavenly visitor. 

These facts show that Spain was in possession of the 
word of God when she extended her sceptre over the 
pagans of America. The ambition of her military ad- 
venturers there was not only to enrich her coffers with 
golden spoil, but to conquer a new world for the 
pope. 

Never did the Church of Rome have a grander oppor- 
tunity than in Mexico to give to perishing souls the gos- 
pel as it is set forth in God's word. Almost every tribe 
had bowed to the yoke of Spain and accepted the religion 
imposed by their conquerors ; but during the three cen- 
turies of Spanish rule the Bible seems never to have 
been brought to this dark shore, or, if it was, the book 
was hidden away in some mouldy library, to be read by 
priests alone. If the voice of the Reformation ever 



364 ABOUT MEXICO. 

sounded in this region and shadow of death, it was soon 
silenced by the Inquisition, which had a dungeon-grave 
for every gospel inquirer, whether in Europe, in Asia or 
in America. God has not been without his witnesses in 
every age and in every country, but the names of few 
shine out to human eyes in the annals of the Church in 
Mexico. The historians of no Christian land were so 
silent with regard to the Reformation as were those of 
Spain. Yet thousands of whom the world knows little 
or nothing died there for the faith of Jesus. Among 
those who left only a name was Juan de Leon, who lived 
in Mexico and fled from that country to Spain, only to 
be arrested there by the Inquisition and burned at the 
stake in 1559, a heroic martyr for Christ. 

Never were printing-presses watched more vigilantly 
than were those of Spain at that time. No book could 
be sold or read without an order from the Inquisition ; 
a bookseller dared not open a bale of goods without its 
permission. The same rules were faithfully carried out 
in Mexico. Even one obnoxious passage in a whole 
edition of books was erased, and some volumes thus 
mutilated can to-day be seen in libraries there. Cardi- 
nal Ximenes, one of the chief promoters of the Holy 
Office, gave it as his opinion that " the Holy Scriptures 
should be confined to the three ancient languages which 
God with mystic import permitted to be inscribed over 
the head of his crucified Son." We do not find, there- 
fore, any mention of Bible translation or Bible printing 
in Spanish America until 1831, when liberal principles 
began to assert themselves even in the Church of Rome 
by a new version of the entire Bible prepared by eight 
Mexican priests and published in the capital by Ribera 
in 1833. Before that time, however, a Spanish New 



"LIGHT THAT SHINETH IN A DARK PLACE." 365 

Testament had been secretly circulating in Mexico. 
Spanish prisoners of war had taken with them to Spain 
and to her former colonies in this country thousands of 
copies of the New Testament translated by Enzinas and 
published by the British and Foreign Bible Society. Amid 
the wild havoc of war the blessed story " of Jesus and 
his love " was breathed in many an ear as this little book 
sped on his errands of peace. The fruit of such seed- 
sowing appeared along many a path yet untrodden by 
other messengers of the cross. The Rev. Dr. Bingham, 
then secretary of the American Bible Society, went into 
Mexico in 1826, and everywhere found a great thirst 
for the word of God. He shipped to the capital five 
hundred Bibles and one hundred and thirty New Tes- 
taments. It was his opinion that up to that time not 
more than two thousand copies of the Scriptures had 
ever reached Mexico. 

The Mexican clergy seem to have been divided among 
themselves as to the expediency of circulating the Bible. 
At one time a poster appeared on the inside door of the 
cathedral in Vera Cruz announcing the publication of 
a Spanish Bible with notes, under the patronage of the 
archbishop ; the same notice appeared in Mexico. But 
this edition was in thirty parts and cost, unbound, eight 
dollars a copy. Another record tells us that the only 
terms on which a Spanish Bible could be procured was 
by the payment of thirty dollars for the book itself, and 
thirty dollars more to the curate of the parish for the 
privilege of reading it. The bargain was completed 
when the buyer solemnly promised not to read his 
treasure in the presence of wife, children or servants. 

Such a case is reported in the Bible Record for 1880. 
A gentleman was traveling in Mexico, in the wildest 



366 ABOUT MEXICO. 

part of the country, where great danger was to be feared 
from brigands. As he walked along he saw in the dis- 
tance a clump of trees, and in the little space among 
them, sitting in a circle on the ground, were several 
men. He feared that he had run into the very danger 
he was trying to avoid, but put on a bold face and 
pushed on. As he drew nearer he saw an old man 
reading aloud to the others from a book. The men 
rose as he came up to them and received him politely, 
and, making room in their circle, invited him to sit 
down on the ground with them. Seeing that they meant 
no harm, he accepted their invitation. Taking his seat 
next the old man, he asked to see what he was reading. 
To his surprise and joy he found that the circle had a 
copy of the New Testament published by the American 
Bible Society. 

Another story is to be referred, probably, to a still 
earlier date. Many years ago, when Mexico was almost 
wholly without the Bible, a Mexican gentleman who 
owned a large hacienda in one of the northern provinces 
became acquainted in a very remarkable manner with 
the saving truth of the gospel. He was wealthy, and 
employed so many to serve him that he might be said 
to own a village. He was proud of his Spanish ances- 
try, and delighted to tell of the time when those of his 
family who first came from Spain to America became 
the fortunate possessors of an image of wood called San 
Roman, said to have been found floating in the water in 
mid-ocean. His ancestors named their estate in New 
Spain after this image ; they built a chapel for it, and 
worshiped it. When the season was dry, as it often Avas, 
they brought San Roman out and carried him in solemn 
procession about the place, hoping in this way to bring 



"LIGHT THAT SHINETH IN A DARK PLACE:' 367 

refreshing rain. In case of sickness or any other trouble 
they prayed to San Roman and gave to him the glory 
which a true Christian gives only to God. The planter 
of San Roman could neither read nor write, and not a per- 
son on his great estate was any better off than he in this 
respect. One day, while in Matamoras on business, a 
Mexican gentleman showed our friend a book which he 
called the word of God. He had heard of God and of 
his Son, but never before that this great Being had writ- 
ten anything that men could read. 

" Was it a letter," he asked, " or a history ?" 

The planter persevered in his inquiries until he had 
heard enough about this wonderful book to want it with 
all his heart, and at once he offered the owner twenty 
silver dollars for it. The gentleman would not sell it 
for any money; he too valued it as a priceless treas- 
ure. 

But the planter of San Roman was not to be put off. 

" You can get another copy," he said, " and I cannot. 
I have never heard till now that God had sent any mes- 
sage to this world, but, since he has, I must have it. 
Take the twenty dollars, and I'll keep the book." So 
saying, he folded the precious volume under his serape 
and rode away. 

The planter had nearly fifty miles to go before he 
reached the house of a friend who could read this won- 
derful message to him. He stopped his horse at the door 
and called out to his friend to go home with him ; " for," 
said he, " I have a book — a strange book — for you to read, 
and I want my family to hear it too. I do not know how 
to wait until you shall open it to me ;" adding, with a 
solemn air, "It is the word of God to men." 

The friend thus appealed to was not so much interest- 



368 ABOUT MEXICO. 

ed in this precious treasure as was the planter, and he 
was at first unwilling to go on such an errand; but, 
being urged, he mounted his horse, and the two men 
rode on to San Roman. 

No sooner had the planter reached his home than he 
ordered the ringing of the great bell which called the 
hands in from every part of the estate. Hearing the 
sound at this unusual hour, the people came crowding 
to the large patio of his mansion. He ordered every 
one to be seated to hear important news. After a few 
words of explanation, the master turned to his friend 
and said, 

"Now begin at the beginning, and read on until we 
shall understand." 

The reader held a small Spanish Testament in his 
hand and opened it at the first chapter of Matthew. 
Verse after verse the hard, strange names rolled over 
his tongue, as meaningless to the listeners as were the 
Latin prayers they had been accustomed to hear mum- 
bled when they went to mass. At last he came to the 
twenty-first verse, which declares that Jesus shall save 
his people from their sins. The people began to get 
some light aud were interested. The story of the wise 
men from the East and the little children who were 
killed in Bethlehem made a great impression. And 
so they went on with the story of Christ's baptism, his 
temptation in the wilderness, the death of his friend 
John, the feeding of the " five thousand men, beside 
women and children." Missionaries of our own time 
tell of Mexicans who sit up all night to hear the Bible 
read, and these people had the same thirst for the word 
of God which characterizes many of their ignorant coun- 
trymen. 



"LIGHT THAT SHINETH IN A DARK PLACE." 369 

When the reader began the story of Christ's betrayal, 
murmurs of sorrow ran through the listening company. 
Where the Saviour was crucified, they wept and bowed 
their heads. How sad, how dark, the outlook for those 
who had already learned to love the sinner's Friend ! 
But, thanks be to God, the story did not end there; 
the cross and the grave were not all. Christ rose again ; 
he walked and talked with his disciples, and then ascend- 
ed on high as a conqueror, saying at the last, " Lo, I am 
with you alway, even unto the end of the world." 

As the wonderful story was finished the master rose, 
and, looking around upon his family and people, said, 

" There Avas one thing I was most glad to hear : it is 
that last word of Jesus, when he tells his disciples to go 
out into all the world and preach the gospel to every 
creature. They were to teach every one everything he 
had taught them. Now, my friends, some of these men 
will come to San Roman to tell us this good news, to in- 
struct us as the Lord instructed them • they will soon 
be here, no doubt. Meanwhile, I must learn to read 
this wonderful book, and you, my sons," turning to 
them, " must learn too, in order to read again the story 
of the Saviour's life and to do what he commands us. 
The disciples have been a long while coming to us, but 
the world is large, you know ; they will certainly come, 
for Jesus thus has commanded them." 

The owner of San Roman and his sons at once began 
to learn to read the precious book. The good news was 
read from time to time to every one on the plantation, 
and there, as of old in Judea, the common people heard 
Christ gladly. Year after year they met on the Lord's 
day as the apostles taught, until at last a Christian settle- 
ment flourished where once San Roman was worshiped. 

24 



370 ABOUT MEXICO. 

That old image was soon forgotten. No more flowers 
or jewels were offered at the forsaken . shrine, and no 
incense went up with the prayers to a senseless block 
of wood. 

At length the planter heard that a man who talked 
like the book was in Matamoras. He got on his horse 
quickly and went in search of him. He would bring 
him to San Roman, where so many were waiting and 
longing for Christ's messenger. 

The preacher was soon found, for just then all Mata- 
moras was stirred with his words ; but it was with great 
difficulty he could be persuaded to go so far into the 
country. He had come to Matamoras on only a short 
visit, and must go back to his own flock. But the 
planter would take no denial. Go he must, and go he 
did, to preach to the people of San Roman. 

Once more the great bell was rung, and the people 
came crowding into the patio to hear that gospel which 
had now become the word of life to them all. 

When the sermon was over, the host had a question 
to ask : 

" Sir, you have not told us why you were so long in 
coming to us. Did not Christ tell you before he went 
up that you were to preach the gospel to every creat- 
ure? How long ago was that?" 

"Eighteen hundred years," replied the missionary, 
awed by the look of sad surprise which his host had 
turned upon him. 

uc Eighteen hundred years'! And what were the 
disciples doing, that they did not teach all nations 
long ago? Surely the Lord said, 'I am with you 
alway'?" 

" Yes," replied the missionary, sadly, " there is par- 



"LIGHT THAT SHINETH IN A DARK PLACE." 371 

don for sin, and they ought to have spread the news ; 
but for many long years the Church has been asleep 
over her duty. But you have heard it, and let us pray 
that the Holy Spirit may work in the hearts of God's 
people until their love and faith and zeal shall carry the 
news of salvation not only throughout Mexico, but to 
the utmost bounds of the earth." 

When war broke out between the United States and 
Mexico, in 1846, agents of the Bible Society followed 
the invading army. The pioneer missionary in Mexico, 
however, was Miss Melinda Rankin, a devoted school- 
teacher from New England, who took her place in 
Brownsville, Texas, just over the border, long before 
Mexico was opened, and there besieged one gate to this 
benighted land. The kind of faith which can say to a 
mountain, " Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the 
sea," was hers. 

Poor vanquished Mexico was yet distracted with 
internal troubles, bleeding with wounds our country 
had inflicted upon her, and too ignorant of her real 
degradation to know that those of her own household 
were her worst enemies. While affairs south of the 
Rio Grande were in this forlorn condition, Miss Rankin, 
listening to the sad stories told by returning soldiers, felt 
that something must be done for poor Mexico. " Who," 
she continually asked with voice and with pen, " will go 
to the rescue ?" Her efforts were all in vain. Then she 
resolved to go herself. She could not preach, but she 
could teach. She was told that Texas was given up to 
outlaws, and that even if she could pass there in safety 
through dangers the Mexicans were too embittered against 
the United States to listen patiently to what she said. 

But love for perishing souls was stronger than all these 



372 ABOUT MEXICO. 

fears. In 1852, after some delay at Huutsville, Texas, 
Miss Rankin opened a school for Mexican children in 
Brownsville, Texas, just opposite Matamoras, in Mexico. 
In this school the Bible was daily and faithfully taught. 
Some of her pupils lived across the river, and frequently 
returned to their homes in Mexico carrying with them 
the New Testaments she gave them. These girls were 
watched by a company of French nuns who had estab- 
lished a school close by Miss Rankin, and also by the 
Romish priests everywhere. Sometimes their Testaments 
were snatched aw 7 ay and burned by lynx-eyed inquisitors, 
but most of them escaped, and many are to-day bring- 
ing forth a harvest of a hundredfold. 

In 1855, Miss Rankin became convinced that the work 
of Bible-distribution required the whole time of one per- 
son, and applied to the American and Foreign Christian 
Union (New York) to seek for a Christian man who 
could speak Spanish to come to Brownsville and, as the 
door opened, to enter Mexico. But such a man could 
not be found, and rather than see the work hindered 
Miss Rankin secured the services of an assistant in her 
school and devoted herself to Bible- distribution. Amer- 
ican friends said, " The Mexicans turn your Bibles over 
to the priests to burn." After investigation, it was found 
that this was very seldom the case. She says, " I found 
that the Mexicans concealed them in the most careful 
manner, taking them out and reading them by night. 
I went one day to the house where one of my pupils 
resided to ask concerning her absence, and also to make 
inquiry after a Bible I had furnished her. A report 
had crept into the school that she had exchanged it with 
the nuns for a saint, and that they had burned it. The 
mother of the girl met me at the door, and with stream- 



"LIGHT THAT SHINETH IN A DARK PLACE: 9 373 

ing eyes told me that her daughter had died of yellow 
fever but a short time before. I asked if she had her 
Bible. She replied, ' No ; I put her Bible iu her coffin, 
as she loved it so much, and it was buried with her.' " 
Orders came now for dozens of Bibles at once, accom- 
panied by money to pay for them. 

Miss Rankin was greatly aided in her labors by a 
traveling German portrait-painter. While attending to 
his business he visited the homes of many wealthy peo- 
ple far in the interior, in many places so remote that they 
knew comparatively little of the great struggle which 
was then going on over Protestantism, or, if they did, 
had those about them who were thirsting for the word 
of God. It was among the poor his message was most 
gladly received. He often, however, encountered violent 
opposition, but his heart was burdened with the spiritual 
needs of distracted Mexico, and he was willing to suffer 
the loss of all things — even of life itself — for Christ's 
sake. He finally lost his life in Mexico; whether he 
was killed as a Bible-distributor or for the purposes of 
robbery was never ascertained. 

In 1859 a light finally dawned upon the long night 
of darkness in Mexico. On Christmas day the liberal 
army under Juarez entered the capital in triumph ; only 
the night before, Miramon and his defeated forces had 
fled away. It was a glorious victory for those who advo- 
cated religious freedom. The great change was heralded 
over the land by ringing of bells and firing of cannon. 
Matamoras, on the northern border, was illuminated, and 
joined in the general rejoicing. Miss Rankin says, "As 
the noise from Matamoras broke on my ear I thought I 
never had heard more delightful sounds, and my heart 
bounded in joyful anticipation that God's word could 



374 ABOUT MEXICO. 

now have free course and be glorified." Men imme- 
diately came over from Matamoras for Bibles and tracts, 
saying, " We can now distribute Protestant books with- 
out any hindrance, and we will pay you for all you can 
let us have." 

In 1860 the American Bible Society employed the 
Rev. Mr. Thompson to labor as their agent in Mexico, 
the authorities encouraging his work. As far as Mon- 
terey he found that the Bible had preceded him every- 
where. At Cadereita, thirty miles from Monterey, a 
man met him with the abrupt question, "Are you not a 
teacher of the Bible? I have dreamed of just such a 
looking man as you ; I knew that somewhere there must 
be the living teacher of this book." It Avas found that 
this man was well read in the Scriptures. He had 
thrown aside popery, embraced the gospel, and gave 
good evidence of being truly " born again." In 1861 
this Mexican and his eldest son came to Brownsville, 
and after careful examination were received into a Prot- 
estant church, the first Mexicans who dared to come out 
publicly and profess the Protestant faith. 

In 1861, Miss Rankin and her helpers were shut out 
by the civil war from communication with friends in 
the United States, and Mr. Thompson returned to the 
United States. 

Rev. James Hickey, being obliged, as a Union man, 
to flee from Texas, went to work in Mexico ; he was the 
first man to collect a congregation of Protestant Mex- 
icans. In two places he found churches ready for organ- 
ization, the result of Bible-reading alone. 

After laboring for years amid many perils and some 
disasters, Miss Rankin's long-cherished desire was grant- 
ed, and in 1866 she crossed over into Mexico and began 



"LIGHT THAT SHINETH IN A DARK PLACE." 375 



work in the beautiful city of Monterey. The hostility 
of the priests was so great that during the first three 
months of her stay in that city she moved three times 




some 
their 
lected 



out of houses she had rented 

and then was obliged to leave. 

But a house was secured at last, and public 

worship began. Converts multiplied, and 

of them were by this time capable of instructing 

countrymen in the truths of the Bible. She se- 

four of these young men and asked them if they 



376 



ABOUT MEXICO. 



would be willing to preach Christ among their people. 
They hesitated — not for want of love to their Master, 
but because they were laboring-men and had families to 
support. Finding that they needed but thirty dollars a 
month, Miss Rankin resolved to set them at work, trust- 
ing for their support to the liberality of Christian friends 




CHURCH OF SAN FRANCISCO, MONTEREY. 

in the United States. Sad to relate, this resource failed 
her just now when the field was so white to the harvest, 
and, taking her life in her hand, as she had done so 
many times before, this noble woman went to the United 
States to lay the cause before the women of its Protestant 



"LIGHT THAT SHINETH IN A DARK PLACE." 377 

churches. These Christian sisters took the measure of 
tier plan, and sent her back to her work with a heart 
newly inspired with love and faith, believing that the 
day would soon come when she should see " the gospel 
preached in Mexico by the Mexicans themselves." She 
had secured funds which enabled her to employ not only 
four, but eight, men. 

As soon as possible Miss Rankin gathered her laborers 
together and prepared to send them out two and two, as 
in apostolic days. The morning came for their depart- 
ure, and she noticed that two of the young men looked 
troubled. 

" Why are you anxious ?" she kindly asked. 

The men said they expected opposition, and were par- 
ticularly afraid of a priest who would meet them with 
arguments against the Bible. They were so ignorant; 
how could they answer him ? 

Miss Rankin opened the Bible at the tenth chapter 
of Luke and drew attention to these words : " And he 
sent them two and two before his face to every city and 
place whither he himself would come" emphasizing the last 
clause, assuring the men that, as they were going out in 
Christ's name to preach his gospel, they might expect 
his presence and blessing, as he had promised. This 
scriptural view of the case restored confidence, and the 
young brethren cheerfully took up their bundles of 
books and departed, Miss Rankin looking after them 
with the joyful exclamation in behalf of Mexico, "Arise, 
shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is 
risen upon thee." 

At the close of a month, the appointed time, every 
man came back with the same story that the seventy 
told to Jesus eighteen hundred years ago. The two 



378 ABOUT MEXICO. 

timid ones were especially happy ; even the priest they 
had dreaded had nothing to say against the Bible when 
they met him. The Bible was opened again and the 
story repeated, with emphasis now on these words : 
"Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through 
thy name." 

This work continued from month to month until the 
whole country within one hundred miles of Monterey 
had been traversed by the eight Mexican colporteurs. 
And now should they not press on to regions beyond 
if the Master made a way ? It was soon opened. Two of 
these young men were sent to Zacatecas, a distance of be- 
tween three and four hundred, miles. They were the two 
timid brethren who ventured forth on this long and dan- 
gerous road, accompanied by two colporteurs employed 
by the Bible Society. At Villa de Cos, near Zacatecas, 
they remained several weeks, teaching and preaching 
with great acceptance. " Scarcely," said they, " do we 
find time to eat or to sleep, so anxious are the people 
to hear our readings from God's word." 

When, in 1873, Miss Rankin was compelled by fail- 
ing health to give her Bible-work into other hands, there 
were hundreds of converted Mexicans, in six organized 
churches, with a school attached to each church and a 
training-school for boys in the seminary-building in Mon- 
terey. Miss Cochrane writes in 1881 : "All but one of 
Mr. Thomson's theological class of ten young men date 
their awakening to the time when Miss Rankin was here. 
Don Pablo, the tenth man, came from a little village 
where a single copy of the Bible began the work." This 
mission is now under the care of the Foreign Board of 
the Presbyterian Church. 

In 1878 the first Bible-store was opened in the City 



"LIGHT THAT SHINETH IN A DARK PLACE." 379 

of Mexico. The passers-by stopped at its windows to 
gaze with mingled curiosity and awe on a book which, it 
was claimed, was the word of God. One peasant from the 
mountains, who came back to buy a Bible, had walked 
seventy miles for this sole purpose and in the purchase 
spent all that he had. He carried home the precious 
book, and read it to his family and his neighbors. They 
had no time to listen to him during the day, but they 
came from far and near at night to his humble cabin and 
took turns in furnishing him with candles. One aged 
couple walked twenty miles night after night to hear 
these wonderful words of life. 

Thus we see that God has put special honor on the 
Scriptures of truth in the early evangelization of Mex- 
ico. In hundreds of instances in every part of the land 
it has preceded the missionary, and again and again con- 
gregations have been found all ready for organization as 
churches where the voice of the living preacher had never 
been heard. The reading of the Bible alone, blessed by 
the Holy Spirit to the saving of souls, has proved how 
true are the Psalmist's words : " The entrance of thy 
word giveth light." 



CHAPTER XXV. 

REGENERATION OF MEXICO. 

THE people of Mexico had been praying in an un- 
known tongue for more than three hundred years, 
when a devoted priest, Francisco Aguilar, began to read 
and to ponder the teachings of the Holy Scripture with 
regard to prayer. As he studied the history of the apos- 
tolic Church the great doctrine of justification by faith 
loomed up before him as a new truth, and that peace 
which he had so vainly sought in fasts and in penances 
began to flow into his soul. His eyes were now opened 
to see the miserable perversions of Scripture which Rome 
had taught for truth. Like the apostle Andrew, Aguilar 
abode with the Master for one day, and then, eagerly 
seeking: for some one to whom he could communicate the 
blessing which filled his own heart, brought a brother- 
priest to Jesus. Thus one friend told another, until a 
band of fifty Bible students had been formed whose 
undreamed-of strength at first woke no opposition. But 
as the truth spread the spirit of persecution was aroused. 
The Church began to thunder out its warnings and 
curses, but Aguilar, strong in the Lord, went on his 
way undismayed. 

An eifort had been made by a few earnest souls as 
early as 1861 to leave the Church of Rome and build on 
true foundations. This work now took shape, and in 

380 



REGENERATION OF MEXICO, 381 

1865 the first Protestant congregation was gathered in 
the capital, under the leadership of Aguilar. They called 
themselves " The Church of Jesus/' and were known 
from the outset as strong advocates of an open Bible in 
the language of the people and of prayer in their mother- 
tongue. Aguilar's ministry was short, but productive. 
He died in 1865, a victim to the cruelty of Rome. The 
Church of Jesus had been put under ban. No Roman- 
ist would give or sell its members food, and they were 
driven out of every house where they attempted to find 
shelter. The pastor was among the first victims of these 
privations, and after his death the little flock were scat- 
tered by their relentless persecutors. 

In the summer of 1868, Miss Rankin was in the 
United States soliciting aid for her work in Monterey, 
when she met the Rev. H. C. Riley, then the pastor of 
a Spanish Protestant church in New York and her own 
personal friend. Her statements convinced him that it 
was his duty to go to the City of Mexico, where two 
hundred thousand souls were sitting in almost heathen- 
ish darkness. Three years afterward Mr. Riley carried 
out this plan, coming to Mexico under the auspices of 
the American and -Foreign Christian Union. His com- 
mand of the Spanish language enabled him at once to 
take hold of the work. He had brought with him a 
printing-press, and this was set up and secretly began 
its work. 

The effort to regather Aguilar's flock and organize a 
church resulted in a split on the subject of prelacy, a 
strong party preferring the simplicity and freedom of 
worship with which they began. As time went on one 
party affiliated with the "Church of Jesus/' and the 
other — nine congregations in all — united under a Pres- 



382 ABOUT MEXICO. 

byterian form of government. The Church of Jesus 
adopted the old Spanish liturgy used by Christians of 
Spain during the centuries in which they held aloof from 
the Church of Rome. 

At last the liberal government felt strong enough to 
provide the Protestants with a house for public worship. 
Confiscated churches by scores were standing empty , and 
one of the handsomest of these — the church of San Jose 
de Gracia — was sold to Dr. Riley for a merely nominal 
sum. The fury of the Romanists knew no bounds. 
They declared that the day the Protestants took posses- 
sion of that church the pavement should stream with 
their blood. 

One night, as Dr. Riley returned to his lodgings, he 
found a letter thrust under his door ; in this letter he 
was told that six men had sworn to waylay and kill him. 
He knew that in those lawless times it would be easy for 
them to fulfill the threat, but said, "If life must be 
short, let it be earnest." 

A pamphlet exposing the errors of Rome was now 
sent out from the press. A copy of this was given by 
a brother-priest to Manuel Aguas, the most earnest and 
eloquent champion of the Church of Rome known in 
Mexico, and a bitter enemy of Protestantism. Aguas 
was called upon to answer at a public meeting this 
bold challenge of the Protestants. In order to prepare 
himself for his task, he took the tract home and sat 
up all night to read it. Other Romish priests had done 
the same, and had been hardened in error ; but Aguas 
w r as pierced to the heart. He opened the Bible, so long 
neglected for the traditions of the Church, and it proved 
to be a sword of the Spirit to him. He wept and prayed, 
and at last, yielding to his convictions, he went to Dr. 



REGENERATION OF MEXICO. 383 

Riley, saying, " Like Saul of Tarsus, I have persecuted 
the Church of Christ." The next time the Church of 
Jesus met they were astonished to see their old adversary 
in the pulpit preaching the faith he had once so bitterly 
denied 

The Romanists were panic-struck. That the man on 
whose devotion to Rome, on whose talents and influence, 
the Church had depended for their overthrow should 
join those despised Bible Christians was indeed a ter- 
rible blow. 

When the day came for the opening service in the 
church of San Jos6 de Gracia, Romanists were there 
thirsting for Protestant blood ; but Aguas was not with 
them. He stood boldly by the pastor, ready to die, if 
need be, for the faith. 

The storm of persecution now raged fiercely around 
this devoted band, but like one inspired Aguas preached 
Christ and him crucified as the only salvation from sin. 
His whole soul was in the work. „ Twelve times in one 
week he was in the pulpit. " Destitute, afflicted, tor- 
mented" by his enemies, he toiled on for three years, 
until at last he sank under the tremendous strain to 
mind and body. His last sermon was from the text, 
"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteous- 
ness' sake : for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." 

Aguas was carried from his pulpit to die. As sight 
and memory failed some one leaned over him and whis- 
pered, " Do you remember the blood of Christ ?" The 
old light kindled again on his pallid face : " Oh yes ! 
yes ! The precious blood of Jesus !" and so he passed 
to his reward. 

A noble band of more than forty martyrs have sealed 
their faith by their blood in this Church of Jesus. Man- 



384 ABOUT MEXICO. 

uel Aguas, the pastor and bishop-elect of this church, 
died in 1872. 

Planted in fertile soil, this organization seemed des- 
tined to outnumber all others and become the leading 
evangelical Church in Mexico. At one time they claimed 
over six thousand adherents, and half that number of 
communicants. It is now sorely rent, however, by in- 
ternal dissension. In 1884 the communicants numbered 
about one thousand, and fifty-two preaching-places were 
reported. 

Elsewhere in Mexico, God's word had "free course 
and was glorified." In 1862 the Rev. James Hickey, 
a Baptist minister, began a good work in the city of 
Matamoras as an independent missionary. In 1863 
he was preaching in Monterey. His assistant at that 
time, the Rev. Thomas Westrup, has since been mur- 
dered by the Indians. Mr. Hickey died in 1866. 

The American Baptist Home Mission Society still 
holds its ground in Monterey, and has also established 
itself in the capital. It has (1886) six ordained minis- 
ters and a membership of three hundred. The Amer- 
ican Baptists of the South also report stations in Saltillo, 
Progreso, Palos and Banas, and much that is encouraging. 

"More important," says one, "than the rise and fall 
of states and empires is the going forth of the mission- 
aries of the cross to Christless lands." The years 1872 
and 1873 are thus marked in the annals of Mexico. 
Branches of the Presbyterian, Friends and Methodist 
churches began evangelical work there. 

The Presbyterian Church built on foundations already 
established. Their work began in the State of Zacatecas, 
in Villa de Cos, a mining-town about sixty miles from 
the State capital, where Grayson Prevost, M. D., of 



REGENERATION OF MEXICO. 385 

Philadelphia, then practicing medicine in Zacatecas, had 
gathered a company of Christian believers. These peo- 
ple had been interested in the religion of the Bible by 
a visit of Miss Kankin's colporteurs from Monterey some 
time before. In two years after this beginning by Dr. 
Prevost there was in Cos a church of one hundred and 
seventy members, a church-building and a religious paper 
started, called The Evangelical Torch. News of this 
awakening reached America, and in September, 1872, 
at the earnest request of Dr. Prevost, the Presby- 
terian Board of Foreign Missions sent out its first 
band of ordained missionaries to Mexico. Protestant 
influences had then been at work in the capital for ten 
years. Among those thus inclined were many whose 
republican principles were so true in type that they pre- 
ferred a " Church without a bishop " as decidedly as they 
desired "a State without a king." At nine different 
points in the city and the surrounding villages were con- 
gregations who had turned for sympathy to the little 
church at Cos. The Presbyterian missionaries, on their 
way to that point, stopped at the capital, and, finding 
there this waiting church, they ran up the old blue flag 
—a token there and everywhere else of republicanism of 
the best type in Church and State. 

Mexico city, Zacatecas, San Luis de Potosi, Monterey, 
Jerez, Saltillo, Durango, Vera Cruz, Acapulco and Ta- 
basco are now centres of the constantly-enlarging work 
of the Presbyterian Church. Says the Presbyterian 
Board's forty-eighth annual report: "Our Church has 
congregations in a continuous line of States from the 
Eio & Grande to Guatemala, and from the Gulf of Mexico 
to the Pacific Ocean, thus marking with a large cross the 
map of the republic." The northern and southern mis- 

25 



386 ABOUT MEXICO. 

sions of this Board were united in 1884; they now 
centre in the capital, and are connected by rail and 
telegraph. 

The theological seminary founded in Mexico city will 
soon be established in San Luis de Potosi. In this insti- 
tution a force of fourteen native ministers and three 
licentiates has been trained and is doing efficient service, 
and ten other young men are preparing for the gospel 
ministry. A mission press is in operation, and the first 
number of a new paper, El Faro (" The Lighthouse "), 
was issued in January, 1885. The girls 7 boarding-school 
in the capital has (1885) 23 pupils. Another of the same 
character is soon to be started in the important field of 
Zacatecas, and one has long been in operation in Mon- 
terey. 

Statistics for Mexican missions of the Presbyterian 
Board, as reported in May, 1885, are: Ordained min- 
isters, foreign and native, 14; licentiates, 11 ; total force 
of native helpers, male and female, 71 ; organized churches, 
92 ; church-members, communicants, 6629 ; adults bap- 
tized in Southern mission in 1884, 631 ; boarding-pupils 
(girls) in two schools, 68 ; day-pupils, 677 ; Sunday- 
school children, 1233; contributions, $1673. 

The Society of Friends (Orthodox) are doing a good 
work in the State of Tamaulipas, which they entered in 
1872. They have an enterprising publishing-house in 
Matamoras, which sends out a gospel literature to all 
lands where the Spanish language is spoken. They have 
a boarding- and day-school in the same place, with 136 
pupils, and a membership of about 250 in the State. 
About a thousand persons attend their services in six 
established meetings. A boys' school will soon be 
opened. 



REGENERATION OF MEXICO. 387 

The Southern Presbyterians have also a mission in 
Tamauiipas, and report 5 churches and 331 members. 

The Southern Methodists, who entered the field in 
1873, are strongly entrenched in Mexico city, San Luis 
de Potosi, Puebla, Oaxaca, Guadalajara, Monterey and 
Saltillo, besides scores of preaching-places and a large 
ministerial force, both native and foreign. They have 
a church-membership of 3022. In their central mission 
they report 65 Sunday-schools and 1300 children en- 
rolled. A self-sustaining boarding-school for Mexican 
girls has been opened in San Luis de Potosi, and a free 
day-school. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church (North) has circuits 
centring in Mexico, Guanajuato, Orizaba, Pachuca, Puebla 
and Queretaro. A large orphanage under the care of 
their Woman's Foreign Missionary Society is flourishing 
in the capital, and schools in Puebla, Leon, Pachuca, 
Miraflores, Queretaro, Real del Monte and El Chico. 
This mission reports, in 1885, churches, 14; full mem- 
bers, 625; probationers, 674; local preachers, 16; Suu- 
day-schools, 18 ; scholars in Sunday-schools, 764 ; con- 
tributions, $1102. 

The American Board of Foreign Missions (Boston) 
began work in 1872 in Guadalajara, a city of some 
eighty thousand inhabitants, situated on the west coast, 
in the State of Jalisco. They found here at first a won- 
derful spirit of inquiry among the people. Within a 
few months there were several conversions. Bitter 
hostility was soon provoked, and Mr. and Mrs. Wat- 
kins were stoned in the street by a company of men 
and boys. 

In November of 1872, Rev. Mr. Stephens, an unmar- 
ried missionary, visited Ahualulco, a small town about 



388 ABOUT MEXICO. 

ninety miles from Guadalajara. Here he had a home 
and a welcome from a few sympathizing friends, and for 
several days he held meetings every evening in a room 
provided for him. It was decided that Mr. Stephens 
should take up his residence in this place, where the 
people were so much interested that they would sit for 
hours at a time to listen, and crowd about him afterward 
to buy Bibles and tracts. For three months he had great 
encouragement, and the majority of the people tolerated, 
and even favored, the Protestants. This success so ex- 
asperated the curate of the parish that he preached a 
most exciting sermon to his people, mostly Indians, in 
which he said, "It is necessary to cut down even to the 
roots the tree that bears bad fruit. You may interpret 
these words as you please." An extract from a Mexican 
paper gives the sad result of this appeal : " At two 
o'clock on the 2d of March the house of Mr. Stephens 
was assaulted by a mob crying, ( Long live the aura ! 
Death to the Protestants !■ They forced the doors and 
entered, destroying and stealing everything they found. 
Mr. Stephens was brutally assassinated, his head severed 
into several parts and his body very much mutilated." 
One of the Protestants was killed at the same time, 
and Mr. Watkins was threatened, but escaped, and oth- 
ers among the Protestants were assaulted and in danger 
from poison. 

In 1876, in spite of bitter persecution — always trace- 
able to the priests — the converts in Guadalajara num- 
bered one hundred and fifty. The experience of the 
laborers here as elsewhere in Mexico proves that " in no 
portion of the unevangelized world is the preaching of 
the simple gospel of Christ likely to encounter more de- 
termined opposition than in countries decidedly Roman 



REGENERATION OF MEXICO. 389 

Catholic ; that in no other land is that opposition, when 
not held in check by civil authority, more likely to pro- 
ceed to murderous violence." 

With all that makes Mexico one of the most fruitful 
of mission-fields, it has been called with truth one of 
the most difficult and dangerous. Scarcely one of the 
early Protestant churches but has its martyrs, and some- 
times many of them. The Church of Jesus has had 
forty. One missionary writes : " More than once I have 
looked out on a sea of maddened creatures ready to tear 
me limb from limb, almost succeeding in forcing an en- 
trance into the house, even cutting a large hole in the 
door, but held back by the unseen Hand." The same 
writer says, " The Mexicans are a revolutionary people 
more used to a breach of than obedience or respect to 
law. At times they seem to be incapable of anything 
which is necessary in deliberative bodies." 

The Church party has stirred up the worst elements 
of society against the Protestants. Again and again the 
hand of a bishop or other dignitary of the Church has 
been discerned behind the scenes of violence which are 
constantly occurring. The advice of the curate of 
Ahualulco has more than once been given to stir up 
a fanatical mob. In one case the preacher gave the 
street and number where Protestant missionaries could 
be found. In Capulhuac, an Indian town not far from 
the capital, Louis Gonzales, the first man who dared to 
present his child for baptism in a Protestant church, was 
killed for his audacity ; at Tisapan five of the brethren 
who came out were murdered in seven years. Until 
1880, Protestants were often forced by mob-law to bow 
to the Host as it was carried about in processions, but 



390 ABOUT MEXICO. 

the law guaranteeing religious liberty is no longer a 
dead letter. 

The Presbyterian church in Capulhuac (just referred 
to) has had an interesting history. It was organized in 
1873. For a long time the services were held in a se- 
cluded pine-forest on the mountain-side over-against the 
place. After many threats from their enemies, they were 
warned that an attack was about to be made upon them. 
An armed mob started for their retreat one Sunday after- 
noon, and were seen crossing the valley to make their 
way up the hillside, when a violent thunder-storm sud- 
denly arose and so darkened the air and blinded their 
adversaries with pelting rain and hail that the little flock 
escaped unharmed. 

One of the Bible Society's colporteurs was one day 
seeking to find the residence of a Methodist brother in 
the city of Leon. He had the difficulty in finding the 
street and number which is common in Mexican cities, 
but at last he came to a house which bore marks of a 
recent assault. The windows had been broken with 
stones, and the walls were well spattered with mud. 
" This house has been mobbed lately," he said ; " it 
must be the one I am looking for;" and on inquiring 
he found his conjecture correct. 

Another colporteur tells of a brother Martinez, an 
earnest Protestant preacher, who went to visit the family 
of a convert in a town called Kancho de Dios. The 
townspeople had been making a new road between their 
place and Zacatecas, some miles distant, and they had 
invited the bishop of Zacatecas to be the first to ride 
over it. Unhappily for himself, Brother Martinez came 
riding into town first, taking, of course, the new road. 
Finding that he was a Protestant, they rushed upon him, 



BEGENERA TION OF MEXICO. 391 

tore him from his horse, tied him hand and foot, built a 
fire and burned his books and papers, and were prepar- 
ing to burn him on the blazing pile when one of the 
authorities of the town, who was a friend of the Prot- 
estants, came up brandishing his sword among the crowd 
and scattered them, but not until they had succeeded in 
burning off the poor man's beard and hair. The police 
were obliged to shut Mr. Martinez up in the town-jail 
to protect him from the mob which still thirsted for his 
blood. 

The Presbyterian church in Zacatecas has been many 
times tried in the fires of persecution. Part of an aban- 
doned Catholic church was rented by the Protestants. 
That this imposing structure should fall into heretic 
hands, its saints be taken down from the walls and 
Scripture texts put in their places was most exasperating. 
What gave a keener point to the indignity was the fact 
that the building had been erected by the Inquisition 
for its peculiar uses, and that in making necessary re- 
pairs the secrets of that awful tribunal had been unveiled 
— the torture-chamber, the rack and pulley, and even 
human skeletons with nails in their temples, and other 
relics of the horrid work of the Holy Office. The 
transfer was no sooner decided upon than bishop and 
priests united in plans for " putting an end to all Prot- 
estants." The mob were ready with knives and pistols, 
waiting in the cathedral itself for the order to rush upon 
the Protestants then assembled in their part of the edi- 
fice. These latter were out in large numbers. Even the 
Sunday-school children came and joined in the songs of 
praise which many a brave heart there thought might 
prove to be his last on earth. Happily for the almost 
defenceless church, the bishop and his friends had a 



392 ABOUT MEXICO. 

quarrel with the governor as well as with the Protest- 
ants, and the city authorities, coming to the rescue of 
the latter, prevented the intended massacre. The whole 
of this vast building is now used for Protestant worship, 
the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions having 
sanctioned the purchase. It is a four-story edifice, with 
balconied windows and solid stone walls very rich in 
carving and other ornamentation, and can easily accom- 
modate a thousand persons in its audience-room. 

In 1875 fourteen Protestants were killed in Acapulco 
in a riot stirred up by an attempt to establish a Presby- 
terian mission there. The missionary who accompanied 
the party was obliged to flee for his life. He was taken 
for shelter on board a man-of-war then in the harbor. 
He made his way back to his home in Mexico city, a 
distance of three hundred miles, by going up the Pacific 
coast from Acapulco to San Francisco, thence overland 
to New York, and so by steamer and rail to Vera Cruz 
and the capital. The little flock already gathered in 
Acapulco, scattered at that time, " went everywhere 
preaching the word." Two of them who fled to South- 
ern California were instrumental in gathering a circle 
of believers there, who were afterward found ready for 
organization as a church when a missionary came upon 
the ground. In less than a year after the massacre of 
their brethren thirty new centres of light appeared in 
mountain- villages in that region, and nearly five hun- 
dred believers traced their conversion to that time of 
bitter persecution. Native brethren had supplied their 
friends with Bibles and tracts, which had been secretly 
circulated and read. When the region was visited by 
missionaries, in 1883, there were thirteen congregations 
in and about Acapulco, and six churches ready for or- 



REGENERATION OF MEXICO. 393 

ganization. The Rev. Procopio Diaz, who lost two 
fingers in the riot of 1873, came now as a welcome 
visitor. He took up his abode in Chilpanzinco, the 
capital of the State of Guerrero, where the governor 
was so friendly to the Protestants that he kept Bibles 
in his house for circulation. One of the church-mem- 
bers in Chilpanzinco died recently, and his funeral was 
the first ever cond acted on Protestant principles in the 
State. The glorious hopes of the gospel shed a new 
and strange light on a scene too often marked by ir- 
reverence. 

In addition to the usual irritation felt in isolated 
places against new Protestant enterprises, there are now 
many tokens of a revival of old prejudices. Says a 
mission report in 1885, " The pressure of opposition 
from the reactionary party in Mexico is greater than 
for many years past." The priesthood have charged 
Protestant ministers from the United States with being 
secret agents for their government, and that they are 
there only to prepare the way for the annexation of 
Mexico to the United States. Several mobs have re- 
sulted from inflammatory appeals to their religious feel- 
ings and their patriotism. 

Following these appeals to mob law came the martyr- 
dom of a faithful brother, Rev. Nicanor Gomez, pastor 
of the church in Capulhuac. He had gone with two 
sons, one of them also a minister of the gospel, to lay 
the foundations of a new and promising church in Al- 
maloya, near Toluca. Not finding the official who was 
to give sanction to this enterprise, Mr. Diaz, another 
pastor, and several of the brethren waited his arrival 
in the house of a neighbor. There were evidences that 
a riot was determined on to prevent the Protestants from 



394 ABO UT MEXICO. 

holding their services. People began to crowd in from 
other towns. Soon the Romish church-bell began to 
ring, and the crowd nocked thither. Two of the Prot- 
estants, suspecting mischief, went also. In the sermon 
the priest told the Romanists that, " at whatever cost, 
the Protestants must be prevented from holding their 
service; they were heretics, enemies of their country, 
abandoned in their moral character, and ought to be 
destroyed." Thus stimulated, the crowd rushed to the 
house where the brethren were waiting. The justice of 
the peace was there, but not the prefect or the police. 
Soon with wild shouts the surging mob came down on 
them with showers of stones. The Gomez brothers 
slipped out by a back door and went to bring the horses. 
The Rev. Mr. Diaz, assisted by his brethren, succeeded 
in getting on his saddle, and escaped with a few bruises 
from clubs after being chased two miles, but the elder 
Gomez, weakened by the blows he had received, was 
dragged to the ground in attempting to mount, and was 
so badly stoned that after lying unconscious for a short 
time he died. 

" Twelve years ago," says a missionary writer, " this 
plain Mexican, Nicanor Gomez, while passing along the 
street was attracted to a book-stall, on which he found a 
copy of the Bible. Purchasing it, he began to study its 
contents, and, becoming more interested, he invited his 
wife to join him in reading it. After a while he called 
in his neighbors and opened his house to a meeting for 
the study of the Scriptures and for prayer. Thus a 
small congregation grew up, for whose accommodation 
he gave up the principal room in his humble abode, he 
and his family being content with less commodious quar- 
ters. Thus for several years he carried on religious ser- 



REGENERATION OF MEXICO. 395 

vices, being assisted only to a partial extent by the 
mission. He had, mainly by his own labor and re- 
sources, nearly completed a small chapel, which was 
about to be dedicated when death put the seal on his 
labors for the cause of Christ." 

The history of this church enterprise is the counter- 
part of many another in Mexico. The good seed finds 
a scriptural variety of soil, but that which falls on good 
ground is wonderfully prolific. Little Bible-reading 
circles are found in out-of-the-way places in almost every 
missionary tour. The story of Don Denias Zitary is a 
case in point. He is a blacksmith working at his anvil 
all the week and preaching twice on Sunday to a thriv- 
ing little church, which has been built up by his efforts. 

& ' ..... 

As he was walking out one evening with a visiting mis- 
sionary he pointed to a large wooden cross on a hill 
near by. The ground around it was strewn with sharp 
flints, so common -in the country. The blacksmith said 
that when he was a young man several priests came to 
his neighborhood from Zacatecas on a collecting-tour, 
and also to exhort the people to penance for the salva- 
tion of their souls. The fervent appeals of these priests 
so excited the crowd that they all consented to walk 
barefoot in procession over these sharp stones, each with 
a crown of thorns pressed on his forehead and a rough 
rope around his neck ; " and," said the narrator, " I was 
one of those who walked with bleeding feet around that 

cross." 

Another layman, Don Mateo Goitia, a pure Spaniard, 
is doing a noble work for the Master in the same neigh- 
borhood. When young he was a bigoted Romanist. At 
one time, when looking over some old clothes and books 
which he had taken for debt, he came across a Spanish 



396 ABOUT MEXICO. 

New Testament. He became interested in it, and read 
it over and over again, till its truths sank into his heart- 
He saw the falsities of his old faith. He was convicted 
of sin. He left off his former bad habits, and, as his 
new principles shone out in his changed life, he drew 
others to study a book which had brought such blessed 
results. He now set up a church in his own house ; in 
two years sixty persons were worshiping there. In 1880 
the members numbered eighty-seven. 

There is something in the loving zeal of many of these 
untutored laborers for Christ which promises wonders for 
the future of the Church in Mexico. 

The story of the introduction of the gospel into the 
State of Michoacan, as gleaned from the letters of Rev. 
J. M. Greene, gives a touching feature of humble Chris- 
tian service in connection with the labors of Rev. H. 
Forcada and other native brethren among the Indians 
of that region. Mr. Forcada's first visit was to Junapeo, 
a small town among clustering villages in the lowlands 
west of the capital. A few Bibles and tracts had been 
sold or given by a Mexican bookseller in Zitacuaro a few 
years before, and these had no doubt been doing a silent 
work ever since among the people. But in 1876, when 
Mr. Forcada came, Junapeo received him very coldly. 
Shelter was most unwillingly given him in the village 
inn, and the storekeeper positively refused to sell the 
heretic anything. After three months 7 faithful work 
Mr. Forcada deemed best to abandon Junapeo for the 
time. He would not go, however, until he had asked 
the Master to have his way made so plain that he could 
not mistake it. That very night the little room where 
he had been holding meetings was full. The work in- 
creased in power. The inhospitable innkeeper was con- 



REGENERATION OF MEXICO. 397 

verted and became a pillar in the Protestant community. 
For five years the religious meetings were held free of 
charge in his large parlor. His wife, once a bigoted 
Romanist, was equally zealous after her change of heart, 
and taught her poor neighbors daily. 

In time, Brother Rodriguez's quarters grew too strait 
for the people who flocked to hear a free gospel, and 
they began to build a church. Mr. Rodriguez gave a 
lot and six hundred and seventy-four dollars toward the 
building, besides superintendiug the work. The house, 
sixty feet by twenty-seven, cost twenty-six hundred dol- 
lars, of which ninety of the people gave ten hundred 
and ninety dollars. Four young brethren who are sup- 
porting themselves while they study for the ministry did 
the work on pulpit, tables, benches, etc. for their contri- 
bution, while the story of the sixty beams which support 
the roof is as interesting as though the scene had been 
laid where the old Sidonians hewed cedar trees out of 
Lebanon for the temple in Jerusalem : " When the 
walls of the church were complete, it became necessary 
to secure sixty stout beams thirty-six feet long. To have 
bought them in Junapeo would have cost ninety dollars. 
A good brother in Ahuacate, eighteen miles away, hear- 
ing of their need, sent them word that they were at per- 
fect liberty to enter his pine forest and cut free of cost 
all the beams they needed. The offer was promptly ac- 
cepted. All the oxen in the neighborhood belonging to 
the brethren or their friends were brought together, 
numbering thirty yoke, with two men to each yoke. 
On a Monday moruing they started. Brethren along 
the road gave men and oxen their meals, and cared for 
them at night. Three days were necessary for the round 
trip, so that by Saturday night the thirty-six miles had 



398 ABOUT MEXICO. 

been twice traversed and sixty fine beams were ready to 
be placed on the walls. The oxen were furnished with- 
out charge. The sixty brethren each gave a week of 
his time without cost, and the work was all done as a 
voluntary offering to the Lord. As I looked at those 
beams afterward, neatly hewed and placed in position, 
they seemed to me sermons in wood, objects as sa- 
cred as the gold which was given for the tabernacle, 
and I doubt not that they were equally acceptable to 
God/' 

When the church was done, eight of the brethren 
walked fifteen miles to Zitacuaro after an organ which 
had been sent to them by friends in the United States. 
As Junapeo lies three thousand feet lower and it was 
impossible to carry such a load on muleback down the 
steep mountain-paths, these men carried it on a sort of 
bier, accomplishing the labor of love by nightfall of the 
same day. 

The house was dedicated on New Year's Day, 1883. 
Such crowds — men, women and children, most of them 
on foot — came from far and near that the opening ser- 
vices were held out of doors. Wrapped in their blankets, 
they camped out under the open sky. In the tropical 
climate of Junapeo this was the best arrangement which 
could be made for such a mass of perspiring humanity. 
But there came a time when the house had to be packed 
to its utmost capacity. Fifty persons were admitted to 
the church on confession of their faith on that occasion. 
We quote again from Dr. Greene : "As I looked over 
that audience of five hundred, filling all the benches 
and seated on the floor, the great mass of humble Indians 
clothed in white muslin, who receive eighteen to twenty- 
five cents a day, not more than one in ten of whom could 



REGENERATION 01 MEXICO. 399 

read, and as I noted their earnest and devout attention 
to the reading of Solomon's prayer at the dedication of 
the temple, and to the preaching • as I saw the peace and 
joy reflected on their faces, and in some cases the tear 
of penitence or gratitude stealing down their cheeks, — I 
longed to be able to photograph the scene and place it 
before all our Christian people at home who have loved 
and prayed for the Mexican work as a proof to them 
that their gifts and prayers have been most signally 
blest." 

Junapeo has its counterpart in many a town and 
hamlet in Mexico. Help from abroad seems to stim- 
ulate to the utmost these generous people. The Indians, 
the chief actors in every anti-Protestant riot, furnish also 
the greatest numbers in the harvest of souls gathered by 
Protestant missions. The heaviest part of the work 
of evangelization now going on in Mexico is done by 
native brethren whose zeal and faithfulness have already 
been blessed to the saving of hundreds of souls in fields 
which have been entirely tilled by them. As soon as 
possible it is intended that the work shall be left entirely 
in the hands of the native ministry. 

Many who are noting the signs of the times in Mex- 
ico believe that greater persecutions are in store for Prot- 
estants there than they have yet experienced. The star 
of conservatism seems to be once more in the ascendant, 
and Rome rejoices. She is still plotting against every 
principle on which Mexican liberties have been estab- 
lished. But, amid the turnings and overturnings to 
which these revolutionary people are subject, Christ is 
building up his kingdom among them on foundations 
firmer than the great mountains on which their cities 
stand. As " a leader and commander to the people " he 



400 ABOUT MEXICO. 

has already caused his standard to be lifted up in this 
land. They are gathering out the stones and easting up 
his highway, and some happy day " the work of right- 
eousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness 
quietness and confidence for ever." 



APPENDIX. 



Just as this volume goes to press, a book by the Hon. 
David A. Wells, LL.D., entitled A Study of Mexico, is 
issued from the house of D. Appleton & Co., New York. 
The following table, showing the population and the area 
of each of the States of Mexico according to the census 
of 1879, is from this book: 



Order of 
density of 
population. 


Name. 


Area in 
square 
miles. 


Number of 
population. 


Pop. 
per sq. 
mile. 


1 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 

10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 


The Federal District (City of 

" " Morelos 

" " Tlaxcala 

" " Guanajuato .... 
" " Puebla 

" " Hidalgo 

" " Aguas Calientes . . 
" " Michoacan .... 

" " Jalisco 

" " Oaxaca 

" " Vera Cruz . . . . 
" " San Luis Potosi . . 

" " Colima 

" " Chiapas 

" " Yucatan 

" " Tabasco 

" " Nuevo Leon .... 

" " Sinaloa 

" " Tamaulipas .... 

" " Campeachy .... 
u " Chihuahua .... 

" " Coahuila 

" " Sonora 

Territory of Lower California 

Total for the Republic . . 


463 

7,840 

1,776 

1,62-2 

11,413 

12,019 

3,205 

8,161 

2,897 

23,714 

39,174 

33,582 

26,232 

27,503 

22,999 

3,746 

16,048 

24,552 

29,569 

11,849 

23,637 

36,200 

27,916 

42,511 

25,834 

83,751 

50,904 

79,020 

61,563; 


351,804 
710,579 
159,160 
138,958 
834,845 
784,466 
203,250 
427,350 
140,430 
661,534 
983,484 
744,000 
542,918 
516,486 
422,506 

65,827 
205,362 
295,590 
302,315 
104,747 
203,284 
186,491 
140,137 
190,846 

90,413 
225,541 
130,026 
115,424 

30,20S 


759 

90 

89 

85 

73 

65 

63 

52 

48 

27 

25 

22 

20 

18 

18 

17 

12 

12 

10 

8 

8 

5 

5 

4 

3 

2 

2 

1 

i 

5" 




739,700 


9,908,011 


13.4 



26 



401 



402 APPENDIX. 

The following facts are given by Mr. Wells concerning 
the past and the present of the Church in Mexico. After 
the downfall of Maximilian, when Juarez became the un- 
disputed and practically absolute ruler of the country, the 
entire property of the Mexican Church was at once " nation- 
alized " (a synonym for " confiscated ") for the use of the 
State. Mr. Wells thus describes the change that resulted : 

" Every convent, monastic institution, or religious house 
was closed up and devoted to secular purposes, and the 
members of every religious society, from the Jesuits to the 
Sisters of Charity who served in the hospitals or taught in 
the schools, were banished and summarily sent out of the 
country. And so vigorously and severely is the policy of 
subjugating the ecclesiastical to the civil authority — which 
Juarez inaugurated in 1867 — still carried out that no con- 
vent or monastery now openly exists in Mexico, and no 
priest or sister, or any ecclesiastic, can walk the streets in 
any distinctive costume or take part in any religious parade 
or procession; and this in towns and cities where twenty 
years ago or less the life of a foreigner or skeptic who did 
not promptly kneel in the streets at the ' procession of the 
Host' was imperiled. Again, while Catholic worship is 
still permitted in the cathedrals and in a sufficient number 
of other churches, it is clearly understood that all of these 
structures and the land upon which they stand are abso- 
lutely the property of the government, liable to be sold and 
converted to other uses at any time, and that the officiating 
clergy are only ' tenants at will.' Even the ringing of the 
church-bells is regulated by law. All these rites, further- 
more — which the Catholic Church has always ' classed as 
among her holy sacraments and exclusive privileges, and 
the possession of which has constituted the chief source of 
her power over society — are also now regulated by civil 
law. The civil authority registers births, performs the mar- 
riage ceremony and provides for the burial of the dead, and, 
while the Church marriage ceremonies are not prohibited to 



APPENDIX. 403 

those who desire them, they are legally superfluous and 
alone have no validity whatever.' (See Report on Church 
and State in Mexico to the State Department by Consul-Gen- 
eral Strother, December, 1883.) 

" How the lower orders of the Mexican people other than 
the distinctive Indian population regarded the proceedings 
of the government against the Church is thus described by 
M. Desire Charney in the account of his researches in Cen- 
tral America : ' Upon the suppression of the monastic orders 
in Mexico, and the confiscation of the property of the cler- 
gy, and the demolition of certain churches and convents, 
the multitude protested, but without violence. The leperos, 
all covered as they were with medals, rosaries and scapu- 
lars, pulled down the houses of their fetiches, while the old 
women — indignant witnesses of the sacrilege — ejaculated 
their aves without ceasing. The exiles had fulminated the 
major excommunication against whoever should have act 
or part in the work of demolition or should tread the streets 
cut through the grounds of the torn-down convents, but 
after a week or so all fear vanished, and not only did the 
destroyers go about their work without remorse, but they 
even used the sacred wood-work of the churches to make 
their kitchen-fires, and the new streets had their passengers 
like the older ones.' — North American Review, October, 1880. 

" Mr. Strother, who has studied the matter very carefully, 
suggests that an explanation may be found in the character 
of the Indian races of Mexico, who constitute the bulk of 
the population, and ' whose native spirit of independence 
predominates over all other sentiments.' He also throws 
out the opinion that ' the aborigines of the country never 
were completely Christianized, but, awed by force or daz- 
zled by showy ceremonials, accepted the external forms of 
the new faith as a sort of compromise with the conquerors.' 
And he states that he has himself recently attended ' relig- 
ious festivals where the Indians assisted, clothed and armed 
as in the days of Montezuma, with a curious intermingling 



404 APPENDIX. 

of Christian and pagan emblems, and ceremonies closely 
resembling some of the sacred dances of the North Amer- 
ican tribes.' It is also asserted that on the anniversaries 
of the ancient Aztec festivals garlands are hung upon the 
great stone idol that stands in the court-yard of the Na- 
tional Museum, and that the natives of the mountain-villages 
sometimes steal away on such days to the lonely forests or 
hidden caves to worship in secret the gods of their ances- 
tors. But, be the explanation what it may, it is greatly to 
the credit of Mexico, and one of the brightest auguries for 
her future, that after years of war and social and political 
revolutions, in which the adherents both of liberty and 
absolutism have seemed to vie with each other in outrag- 
ing humanity, the idea of a constitutional government 
based on the broadest republican principles has lived, 
and to as large an extent as has perhaps been possible 
under the circumstances practically asserted itself in a 
national administrative system. 

" When the traveler visits the cities of Mexico and sees the 
number and extent of the convents, religious houses and 
churches which, having been confiscated, are either in the 
process of decay or occupied for secular purposes, and in 
the country has pointed out to him the estates which were 
formerly the property of the Church, he gets some realiza- 
tion of the nature of the work which Juarez had the ability 
and the courage to accomplish. And when he further re- 
flects on the numbers of idle, shiftless, and certainly to some 
extent profligate, people who tenanted or were supported by 
these great properties, and who, producing nothing and con- 
suming everything, virtually lived on the superstitious fears 
of their countrymen — which they at the same time did their 
best to create and perpetuate — he no longer wonders that 
Mexico and her people are poor and degraded, but rather 
that they are not poorer and more degraded than they are. 

" What amount of property was owned by the Mexican 
Church and clergy previous to its secularization is not cer- 



APPENDIX. 405 

tainly known — at least, by the public. It is agreed that 
they at one time held the titles to all the best property of 
the republic, both in city and in country, and there is said 
to have been an admission by the clerical authorities to the 
ownership of eight hundred and sixty-one estates in the 
country, valued at seventy-one million dollars, and of 
twenty-two thousand lots of city property, valued at one 
hundred and thirteen million dollars, making a total of 
one hundred and eighty-four million dollars. Other esti- 
mates, more general in their character, are to the effect that 
the former aggregate wealth of the Mexican Church can- 
not have been less than three hundred million dollars ; and, 
according to Mr. Strother, it is not improbable that even 
this large estimate falls short of the truth, ' inasmuch as it 
is admitted that the Mexican ecclesiastical body well under- 
stood the value of money as an element of power, and, as 
bankers and money-lenders for the nation, possessed vast 
assets which could not be publicly known or estimated/ 
Notwithstanding, also, the great losses which the Church 
had undoubtedly experienced prior to the accession of Jua- 
rez, in 1867, and his control of the State, the annual reve- 
nue of the Mexican clergy at that time, from tithes, gifts, 
charities and parochial dues, is believed to have been not 
less than twenty-two million dollars, or more than the entire 
aggregate revenues of the State derived from all its customs 
and internal taxes. Some of the property that thus came 
into possession of the government was quickly sold by it, 
and at very low prices, and, very curiously, was bought, in 
some notable instances, by other religious (Protestant) de- 
nominations, which previous to 1857 had not been allowed 
to obtain even so much as tolerance or a foothold in the 
country. Thus, the former spacious headquarters of the 
order of the Franciscans, with one of the most elegant 
and beautifully-proportioned chapels in the world within 
its walls, and fronting in part on the Calle de San Fran- 
cisco, the most fashionable street in the City of Mexico, was 



406 APPENDIX. 

sold to Bishop Riley and a well-known philanthropist of 
New York, acting for the American Episcopal missions, at 
an understood price of thirty-five thousand dollars, and is 
now valued at over two hundred thousand dollars. In like 
manner, the American Baptist missionaries have gained an 
ownership or control in the city of Puebla of the old palace 
of the Inquisition, and in the City of Mexico the former 
enormous palace of the Inquisition is now a medical col- 
lege, while the Plaza de San Domingo, which adjoins and 
fronts the church of San Domingo, and where the auto-da-fe 
was once held, is now used as a market-place. A former 
magnificent old convent, to some extent reconstructed and 
repaired, also affords quarters to the National Library, which 
in turn is largely made up of spoils gathered from the libra- 
ries of the religious ' orders ' and houses. The national 
government, however, does not appear to have derived any 
great fiscal advantage from the confiscation of the Church 
property, or to have availed itself of the resources which 
thus came to it for effecting any marked reduction of the 
national debt. Good Catholics would not buy ' God's prop- 
erty ' and take titles from the State, and so large tracts of 
land and blocks of city buildings passed at a very low 
figure into the possession of those who were indifferent to 
the Church and had command of ready money ; and in this 
way individuals rather than the State and the great body 
of the people have been benefited." 



INDEX. 



A. 

Aguilar, 380. 

death of, 381. 
Alvarado's cruelty, and its cost, 

211. 
American Board of Foreign Mis- 
sions, 387. 
Aguas, Manuel, converted to Prot- 
estantism, 382. 
Aztecs, 34. 

are defeated, and their capital 
is destroyed, 236. 

armor, 62. 

born warriors, 61. 

children, 114. 

cruelties, 83. 

doctrine of future life, 83. 

education, 116. 

festivals, 89. 

home rules, 113. 

language, 111. 

laws, 50. 

manuscripts, 110. 

marriage, 121. 

rebel against Spaniards, 203. 

ruins, 42. 

schools, 117. 

softer traits, 122. 

tactics, 66. 

traditions, 37. 

tyranny, 129. 

writings, 107. 



B. 

Bible secretly circulated, 

365. 
Bravo, Miguel, 275. 

O. 

Cacama, Tezcucan chief, 185, 203. 
Capital of Mexico, Cortez' first 

view of, 183. 
Cempoalla, 151. 
Chapultepec Castle, 328. 
Chihuahua, 352. 
Children, mode of training, 113. 

naming of, 115. 

sold for sacrifice, 123. 
Cholula a sacred city, 170. 

pyramid of, 32. 
Cibola, seven cities of, 261. 
Civilization, ancient Mexican, 92., 
Columbus the Pathfinder, 17. 
Cortez, 135. 

ascends Popocatapetl, 180. 

as missionary, 154. 

Aztecs rebel against, 203. 

besieges and destroys City of 
Mexico, 236. 

cool reception, 140. 

Cuban jealousy of, 208. 

enters Tlascala, 225. 

expedition of, 135. 

march toward Mexico, 158. 

rallies at Otumba, 223. 
407 



408 



INDEX. 



Cortez reinforced from Cuba, 227. 
retreats from city, 217. 
returns and captures Tezcuco, 
229. 
Country decides to be republican, 

282. 
Creoles, 267. 

D. 

De Cordova, 131. 
Dress, modes of, 101. 

E. 

End of Spain's power, 284. 
Enslavement of Indians, 252. 

F. 

Feathered Serpent, 75, 129. 
Festivals, Aztec, 89. 
Franciscan friars arrive, 247. 
Friends, mission of, 386. 
Funeral rites, 103. 

G. 

Grijalva's expedition, 134. 
Guadalajara, 356. 
Guadalupe Victoria, 280. 
Guanajuato, 355. 
Guatemozin betrayed, 243. 

surrenders, 236. 
Gulf of Mexico discovered, 131. 

H. 

Harbors, 336. 
Hidalgo, 270. 

betrayal and death, 274. 

plots for independence, 272. 
Homes, Mexican, 95. 
Hungry Fox, story of the, 124. 

temple of the, 72. 



I. 

Idols burnt in the street, 
157. 

torn down, 206. 
Improvements, 339. 
Indian hucksters, 310. 
Indians enslaved, 252. 
Inquisition set up, 265. 
Iturbide, 278. 

abdicates, 283. 

banished, 283. 

proclaimed emperor, 282. 

strikes for liberty, 282. 
Iztapalapa, 186. 

J. 

Juarez, Benito, 285. 

death of, 305. 

exiled, 294. 

recalled. 294. 

services of, 289. 

struggling for liberty, 299. 
Jesuits expelled, 265. 

L. 

Lake Zumpango drained, 256. 

Las Casas, 251, 254. 

Laws and government, Aztec, 50. 

M. 

Manners of the people, 1 01. 
Marina, first American Christian, 

143. 
Martyrs, Protestant, 392. 
Maximilian executed, 304. 

sent over as emperor, 297. 
Mendoza, first viceroy, 253. 
Mexico before the conquest, 22. 

early settlers, 29. 

mineral wealth, 27. 

present government, 305. 



INDEX. 



409 



Mexico, productions, 25. 

railway, 309. 

wealth, first glimpse of, 20. 
Mexico, City of, ancient, 96. 

cathedral of, 320. 

destroyed, 236. 

education in, 325. 

houses, 322. 

markets of, 316. 

new city described, 314. 

rebuilt, 240. 

residents, 326. 

water-supply, 316. 
Mexico, Gulf of, discovered, 131. 
Mexitli, the Aztec capital, 39. 
Michoacan, gospel introduced into, 

396. 
Mines and minerals, 344. 
Missions, American Board of For- 
eign, 387. 

Friends, 386. 

Methodist, 387. 

Presbyterian, 384. 

Rankin, Miss, pioneer mis- 
sionary, 371. 

Riley, Rev. H. C, 381. 
Monterey, 351. 

missionary work, 375. 
Montezuma, Cortez preaches to, 
191. 

Cortez sends presents to, 1 44. 

death of, 213. 

meets Cortez, 187. 

presents from, 146. 

seized and held a captive, 199. 

submits as vassal, 204. 
Morelos and his heroes, 275. 

N. 
Narvaez defeated and cap- 
tured, 210. 



Narvaez sent to supersede Cortez, 

208. 
New government of Mexico, 253. 
New Seville, 151. 



Orizaba, 307. 

P. 

People, 346. 

mode of living, 347. 
Picture-writing, 108-111. 
Plants, 342. 
Police in cities, 354. 
Popocatapetl ascended, 180. 

described, 329. 
Presbyterian missions, 384. 

at Capulhuac, 390. 

at Zacatecas, 391. 

statistics, 386. 
Priesthood, corruption of, 266. 
Puebla, 358. 

Q. 

QUERETARO, 355. 

R. 

Railway, 309. 

Railroads, 336. 

Rankin, Miss, pioneer missionary, 
371. 

Reformation, Bible secretly circu- 
lated, 365. 
principles, 360. 

Reporting, Mexican method of, 
145. 

Riley, Rev. H. C, 381. 

Ruins, ancient, 32. 
Aztec, 42. 



410 



INDEX. 



Ruins in New Mexico, 46. 
Toltec, 32. 

S. 

Sacred places and people, 70. 
Santa Anna president of Mexico, 

290. 
Schools, 117. 
Seasons, 339. 
Slaves set free, 289. 
Spain despoiled Mexico, 262. 

end of power, 284. 

grasping policy of, 259. 
Spanish cruelty, 244, 250. 

invaders as missionaries, 136. 

T. 
Temple of Hungry Fox, 72. 
Temples, ancient, 78. 
Tezcucans, 54. 
Tliacalans, 161. 



Tlascalans, battle with the Span- 
iards, 164. 
Toltecs, 31. 

history of, 34. 

ruins of, 32. 

V. 

Vera Cruz, 307. 
Villages, Indian, 36, 242. 
Virgin Mary, Indian, 109, 331. 
Votan, 29. 

W. 
War with the United States, 

289. 
Worship, early, 70. 
Writing, origin of, 106. 

picture-writing, 108-111. 

Z. 

Zacatecas, 355. 



THE END. 




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